- The Sepolia Beacon chain went live
- The testnet comes after Ropsten underwent its merge
- The Sepolia Beacon chain will give developers data that leads to the mainnet merge
The Ethereum Sepolia Beacon chain testnet went live on 20th June 2022. The Sepolia deployment gives way to its merge to equip developers of the Ethereum network with technological understandings.
After the Sepolia testnet is merged to its Beacon chain, it will start using the proof-of-stake and not the proof-of-work protocol. The proof-of-stake consensus will release any data that involves the Ethereum mainnet merge.
The exact date of the Sepolia merge has not yet been set, though the targeted date is around 29th June,
Sepolia testnet comes after Ropsten
The Ropsten Beacon chain was launched on 30th May 2022 and on 8th June it went through its merge. It was recorded as the very first merge trial on the Ethereum blockchain.
The testnet wounds up the period of PoW design in the Ethereum blockchain. It is a replica of the Ethereum blockchain, bearing the Ethereum mainnet aspects.
Testnet merges are important for the independent project developers and the Ethereum network developers. The merges give a clear view of what is expected once the Ethereum network undergoes the merge.
When to expect the Ethereum 2.0 merge
Just like the testnets, the Ethereum mainnet merge will have the whole network shift from the proof-of-work to the proof-of-stake consensus. The proof-of-stake consensus is more suitable as it helps the Ethereum network to cut its energy consumption by 99%.
In April 2022, Tim Beiko was seen confirming through a tweet that the Sepolia or Goerli will be maintained after the merge. He urged the projects that are operating on Ropsten to move to Sepolia as Ropsten and Rinkeby will end up being degenerated.
The date of the Ethereum 2.0 merge has been delayed, though Vitalik Buterin confirmed that it may take place in August or may happen either in September or October.
The merge is in its final stages as it has already undergone its major phases. Starting from a shadow fork which was launched in April 2022. Then followed by Ropsten forking, then the Sepolia and Goerli forking.
The Sepolia and Goerli forking ensure that Ropsten runs smoothly and is stabilized. Thereafter there will be a period of waiting before the whole process is run on the mainnet.
