Countdown to Ethereum merge begins as the final public testnet goes live

On March 14, Ethereum developer Tim Beiko turned to Twitter to announce that Kiln Testnet has gone live and is ready to merge with the Beacon chain.

Kiln is expected to be the final public testnet before the Ethereum network switches from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS).

ALSO READ

Ethereum 2.0: All you need to know about Proof of Stake, Beacon Chain, Sharding

The Ethereum Foundation requested the network stakeholders to run tests using Kiln for better results.

“We strongly recommend that developers run through a full testing and deployment cycle on Kiln and report any issues with tools or dependencies to those projects’ maintainers."

• In December 2021, the first public testnet Kintsugi was released to enable the initial merger followed by Kiln. One of the most significant changes in Kiln Testnet is the addition of JWT-based authentication.

• The kiln will be operational for three months and the Ethereum Foundation expects the blockchain to be upgraded to Ethereum 2.0 this summer. The transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake will be the turning point in the network's history and Tim Beiko has played a significant part in orchestrating this transition.

• The final phase of Ethereum 2.0 involves sharding, the process of deciding which node validates transactions and the final phase of Ethereum's development will allow the blockchain's security to be based on staked tokens rather than expensive and energy-intensive mining hardware.

The transition allows Ethereum to remain competitive in the blockchain space while also enhancing its sustainability, scalability, and security.