In another major development, Ethereum 2.0 deposit contract reached the total required number of 524,288 ETH before the first deadline on Nov 24, paving the way for a smooth genesis event on Dec 01. It currently holds 837,920 ETH, which is 59.2% more than the amount required to launch the Eth2 network. This is is highly encouraging as the excess amount will ensure smooth launch, redundancy and improve network security.
The staking rewards (measured in annual percentage rate) for providing computational power to the Eth2 network are currently 17.1% APR, down considerably from the initial 21.6% APR, at the minimum required for launch. This is in part because the network launch has now been secured and issuance rate can go down. It was initially very high because validators needed sufficient motivation for the long commitment, since the ETH deposit is one-way and irreversible for now and will remain so for at least 1-2 years.
Ethereum Hash Rate Is At ATH
Analysts are noting that as the Ethereum 2.0 genesis event draws near, the network hash rate is climbing and reaching activity which hasn’t been seen before. Ethereum’s hash rate has now exceeded the levels, even seen during the last 2017-18 bull run. It is indicative of high profitability amidst the network upgrade, wide use cases, DeFi infrastructure and ETH price appreciation.
Lately, Ethereum has replaced Bitcoin as the number one profitable blockchain network. The lead has been steadily increasing also and currently Ethereum miners are cumulatively netting a massive $1.2M per day. Since, it’s more profitable to mine Ethereum than any other network even Bitcoin, the hash rate reaching ATHs is understandable.
About Ethereum 2.0
Ethereum 2.0 is the next big upgrade for the Ethereum network. It will bring Proof of Stake (POS), eWASM and sharding. It will reduce the resources, required to run the Ethereum network, as well as bring scalability and performance improvements.
The Eth2 upgrade will be implemented in three phases, with the first Phase 0 Beacon Chain, expected by the end of Q2 2020, which will introduce the staking facility. This will be followed by the Phase 1 in Q1 2021, which will introduce sharding and allow data to be stored on shards, however transactions can’t still be processed.
The Phase 2 will make the Ethereum 2.0 truly complete and the network operational, after its introduction at some point in 2022. It will bring the Ethereum WebAssembly (eWASM) replacing the now operational Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Only after the Phase 2 has been rolled out, proper execution of smart contracts and transactions can commence on the new Eth2 chain. The Eth1 and Eth2 chain will gradually merge with each other.
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