Ethereum Merge could be delayed one more time, here's why

Ethereum's difficulty bomb is scheduled to explode in August 2022 and slow down the ETH blockchain. Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of the altcoin, warned that a change in plans could result in a delay in the Ethereum Merge. 

Also read: Vitalik Buterin sets date for Ethereum’s Merge, fueling a bullish breakout

Ethereum Merge could suffer a delay if problems arise

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin told the community at the Shanghai Web 3.0 developer summit that the Ethereum Merge could occur as early as August 2022. Buterin remains optimistic about the timeline for the transition to Proof-of-Stake. However, he warned of a delay in the event that problems arise in the testnet implementation. 

The Ropsten testnet will test the Merge on June 8, and a smooth transition to Proof-of-Stake is key to the event's timeline. If problems arise and developers identify issues that need resolution, the Ethereum Merge could be delayed. Buterin explained that a delay could push the Merge to September or October 2022. He was quoted as saying,

"If there are no problems, then the Ethereum Merge will happen in August, but of course, there's always a risk of problems, there's also a risk of delays, and so September [2022] is possible, and October [2022] is maybe possible."

The problems that Buterin referred to are the challenges that arise when the Ethereum blockchain, with all its decentralized applications and protocols, migrates from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake. The test scheduled for the Ropsten testnet is, therefore, key to the timely execution of the Ethereum Merge. If critical issues identified during the test take long to be resolved, it would delay the Merge. 

Difficulty bomb on the Ethereum blockchain is ticking away 

Justin Drake, an Ethereum researcher, revealed that the merge is currently on track and at the top of the development team's priority list. Drake has a "strong desire to make this happen before difficulty bomb in August."

By difficulty bomb, Drake refers to a program coded in the Ethereum blockchain intended to slow down the blockchain. This would encourage migration from Proof-of-Work to the Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism. The bomb achieves this by increasing the difficulty for miners operating the Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism post the Merge. 

What follows the Merge

The Ethereum Merge is far from the end of the road for the blockchain network. The development team has lined up the Surge, Verge, Purge and Splurge, after the successful migration of Ethereum to Proof-of-Stake.

The Surge will tackle scaling and improvements through the implementation of sharding techniques. The Verge would apply Verkle Trees, an upgrade that allows for smaller proof sizes and encourage "statelessness" in the Ethereum blockchain. Statelessness is the passing of the responsibility of provisioning and storing Ethereum world state to a participant or witness in the altcoin's network. The Purge will address Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) simplification and the final milestone, while the Splurge would implement miscellaneous and important extras on the altcoin's roadmap. 

Ethereum price could break out if it reclaims $2,800

A crypto analyst and trader, @IamCryptoWolf, believes that Ethereum price could reclaim $2,800, after evaluating the ETH trend. 

The fractal pattern is similar to what the analyst observed in October 2016 on the Ethereum price chart, and the first fake-out is followed by the failure of the ascending triangle. The analyst eyes a target of $4,200 for Ethereum price in the long-term if the ascending triangle pattern plays out. 

ETHUSD chart

FXStreet analysts dive into strategy to profit from Ethereum price at $2,500.