Ethereum’s move to proof of stake (PoS) is inching closer as the network’s oldest testnet Ropsten is expected to transition to PoS on Wednesday night Asia time.
Ropsten’s proof-of-work (PoW) chain will merge with its PoS beacon chain and combine to form a single PoS network.
The exact timing of the merge may fluctuate, but according to an official blog post, it is expected to take place around June 8-9, subject to certain conditions being met.
The testnet merge is a dress rehearsal for Ethereum’s mainnet merge, which will include the same process, scheduled for later this year.
The Ropsten merge will help check whether client software to run Ethereum nodes function smoothly during the transition.
The testnet merge will take place when the PoW chain of Ropsten reaches a specified difficulty level called Total Terminal Difficulty (TTD) of 50 quadrillion, which has been set to deter malicious actors.
