Ethereum delays Difficulty Bomb, a vital ingredient of much awaited Merge upgrade for Layer-1 blockchain.
Two months is incorporated for ‘sanity check’ and ensure all the data checks in fine and deployment time goes unobstructed. All variables need to be just right as ETH cannot take chances with a Merge Layer-1 blockchain.
The aim of difficulty bomb is to disincentivize Ether (ETH) mining operations. As the network moves from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake, it seeks to discourage storing physical mining devices.
Difficulty bomb significantly increases the ‘difficulty quotient’ for transaction verification. It will negatively impact the profitability for PoW miners. Eventually, physical miners won’t be able to validate a block. Added in 2016, the difficulty bomb was part of plans to transform Merge into Consensus Layer.
Proof-of-Work networks consume massive power for operations. The Ethereum network aims to reduce power consumption by 99.9% with transition to Proof-of-Stake. Competitor networks such as Polygon and Fantom operate at negligible power consumption.
Expected in August 2022, Merge will likely boast energy efficiency, and faster speeds. The recently concluded transition to Proof-of-Work by the Ropsten testnet on Ethereum is a fine example.
Even though crypto sentiment is down, Ethereum adoption is increasing gradually. Over one million transactions are recorded on the network daily. General load and power consumption remains the same and the network shows robust growth figures.
Difficulty bomb delays allows developers to re-evaluate crucial details concerning the vital upcoming update. As mining incentives dry up, the much-anticipated proof-of-stake shift will approach. In the long-term, miner rewards will take a massive hit as they can’t sanction transactions physically.
As the most widely-used blockchain, Ethereum needs to step up its game in terms of energy efficiency and also regulate the gas fees for wider reach of the network. The Ethereum developers also floated the idea of combining the difficulty bomb delay with the client releases for the Bellatrix hard fork on the Beacon Chain.