Ethereum ready for The Merge as last shadow fork completes successfully

Ethereum developers confirmed that completed the shadow forks required for the highly anticipated blockchain upgrade. 

Shadow forks help developers stress test synchronization assumptions to ensure network safety during upgrades. developer introduce the first shadow fork on 11th Apr 2022. 

Approx 9 months, Ethereum and Nethermind company confirmed that the transition in Mainnet Shadowfork 13 the last fork was successful signaling the readiness of the network for migrating to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. 

Transition in Mainnet-Shadowfork-13 (the last shadowfork before The Merge) was successful for all Nethermind nodes!#TheMerge #Ethereum #Nethermind #MSF13 pic.twitter.com/sddPPwSR1u

— Nethermind (@nethermindeth) September 9, 2022

The Ethereum testnet is allowed developers to practice running nodes, deploying contracts, and testing the infrastructure among other functionalities. Shadow forks allow developers to gauge the implications of network upgrades before they happen. 

The Ethereum community needs to update its Ethereum clients and run the combination of an execution layer and consensus layer.

Alexander Hoptner the CEO of BitMEX expressed the need for paying close attention during the Ethereum upgrade to avoid service downtime. 

Alexander Höptner stated: 

“You have to be just, let's say, awake and see what happens. There's a chance for high volatility. And so you have to make sure that your services are up and running. [...] We don't expect any major disruptions outside of volatility.”

Furthermore, Alexander Hoptner said that the success of the Merge would be dependent on the support of the community.

Related: Sui blockchain, raise $300 million led by FTX Ventures