Ethereum’s long-awaited transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS) is finally underway. The ETH 2.
0 upgrade is being rolled out in phases, with Phase 0 – the launch of the Beacon Chain – taking place on December 1st, 2020.
This first phase is crucial to the success of ETH 2.0, but it’s just the beginning.
In the coming months and years, additional phases will be launched that will complete Ethereum’s transformation into a fully PoS-based network.
So, how long until Ethereum is fully proof-of-stake? It’s hard to say for sure, but we can make some educated guesses based on the timeline of the ETH 2.0 rollout.
Phase 0 – Beacon Chain Launch (December 2020)
The first phase of ETH 2.0 is the launch of the Beacon Chain. This is a PoS-based blockchain that will serve as the foundation for the rest of ETH 2.
0. The Beacon Chain will be responsible for managing validators, tracking staking rewards, and more.
Phase 1 – Shard Chains (TBD)
Phase 1 of ETH 2.0 will introduce shard chains, which are additional parallel blockchains that will process transactions alongside the main Ethereum blockchain.
This will greatly increase Ethereum’s scalability and allow it to handle far more transactions than it does today.
Phase 1 is currently scheduled to launch in 2021, but the exact date has not yet been announced. Once Phase 1 is live, Ethereum will be able to process thousands of transactions per second (up from its current limit of around 15).
Phase 2 – Execution Environments (TBD)
Phase 2 of ETH 2.0 will introduce execution environments, which are essentially virtual machines that can run smart contracts on Ethereum’s shard chains.
This will allow developers to build decentralized applications (dApps) and other complex applications on Ethereum.
Phase 2 is currently scheduled to launch in 2021, but again, the exact date has not yet been announced. Once Phase 2 is live, Ethereum will be able to support a wide range of dApps and other complex applications.
So, when all is said and done, how long until Ethereum is fully proof-of-stake? Based on the current schedule, it seems likely that Ethereum will be fully PoS-based by late 2021 or early 2022 at the latest. However, it’s important to note that these timelines are subject to change and delays are always possible.