Ethereum’s New Upgrade: Here’s What The Merge Changed

Update, September 2026: The Shanghai upgrade mentioned below went live on 12 April 2023, so staked ETH and rewards can now be withdrawn. Since then, Dencun (13 March 2024), Pectra (7 May 2025) and Fusaka (3 December 2025) have changed Ethereum further; see how Pectra improves staking and what Fusaka means for home stakers. The staking figures below are from November 2022.

Ethereum’s New Upgrade: Here’s What The Merge Changed

Ethereum’s transition towards Proof-of-Stake is now complete: after years in the making, The Merge has finally taken place. Over the last few years, the topic has been dominant in crypto spaces and among people who are observing the landscape. With it, there are some significant changes in the Ethereum network that impact everyday users and stakers. This article will explain what those changes actually entail.

What is the Ethereum Merge?

The Merge is Ethereum’s long-anticipated transition towards a new consensus mechanism that governs how blocks are verified on the Ethereum blockchain. Ethereum proponents dubbed it ‘The Merge’. Like Bitcoin, Ethereum was originally designed to employ a consensus mechanism known as Proof-of-Work (PoW).

The use of Proof-of-Work seemed like a necessary invention for allowing cryptocurrencies to exist on a peer-to-peer basis without relying on a bank or third party to keep the network secure. While PoW has been successful in preventing certain types of malicious attacks and double spending, it is not without its drawbacks. Namely, PoW networks consume immense amounts of energy and have given cryptocurrencies somewhat of negative stigma among sections of the public as a consequence.

Proof-of-Stake (PoS), on the other hand, has been a long-proposed solution that the Ethereum network could employ in order to significantly reduce energy consumption. At the same time, proponents fought to ensure that PoS would still be able to maintain the network’s security and independence from financial intermediaries. According to CNBC , The Merge has succeeded in reducing Ethereum’s energy consumption by more than 99%.

How The Merge took place

The Beacon Chain is the additional blockchain that the active Ethereum Mainnet chain merged with, which is how this new era of Ethereum arrived. The Beacon Chain was created in December of 2020 and ran parallel to the main Proof-of-Work chain that has long stood as the world’s second-most popular cryptocurrency by market cap and word of mouth.

By deploying Proof-of-Stake on this separate Beacon Chain for nearly two years prior to the merge, Ethereum developers were able to develop the network’s security and ensure its viability. Once the community and developers leading the Ethereum movement were prepared to do so, they finally merged the Beacon Chain with the Ethereum Mainnet. This means that all Ethereum (ETH) transactions are now using Proof-of-Stake instead of Proof-of-Work.

All of this occurred without having to erase any part of the network’s history. Rather, all of the previous Ethereum transactions, wallets, and holdings have been included in this merge. In addition, the first Proof-of-Stake transaction to occur on the Ethereum network since The Merge received a much higher client participation rate than it needed to in order to be approved, at nearly 100%.

What The Merge means for you

Staking is now the process that the entire Ethereum network uses in order to verify the validity of transactions, so with The Merge, staking Ethereum has become more readily accessible. Whereas the task of keeping the network secure was previously a responsibility for miners, it is now validators who are tasked with doing so.

Running your own validator means staking a minimum of 32 ETH in the network. In exchange, you receive passive income as an incentive for your role in keeping the network secure. According to Ethereum.org , the current annual percentage rate on your stake would be approximately 4%.

In addition, there is currently over 15.2 million total ETH staked in the network, spread out across just shy of 450,000 validators. With the upcoming Shanghai upgrade, it will also become easy for people to withdraw their stake and enjoy their passive income rewards easier than ever before.

When it comes to using the network, nothing has changed for users and holders. When talking about a significant event in the lifestyle of the network, that is actually a very positive sign. It means that we have successfully witnessed one of the world’s largest cryptocurrencies move away from one of its largest hurdles without negatively impacting those who use the network in the process. As a result, The Merge is being lauded as an incredibly exciting time to be part of the cryptocurrency movement.

AVADO is making it easy to participate in Ethereum’s evolution

AVADO is a company that provides plug-and-play devices that allow anyone and everyone to reap the benefits of taking part in the Web3 movement. You do not need any prior experience or technical knowledge to use one of the blockchain devices offered in our extensive product range.

With an AVADO device and 32 ETH or more — you will be able to stake Ethereum and earn passive income in the process. You can also run other networks on the same box, such as an Avalanche validator or a Bitcoin full node, while enjoying the security and autonomy that comes with operating your own device.

There has never been a better time to get involved in this exciting and constantly-evolving landscape.

If you are curious to find out more about AVADO, go to ava.do and join our Discord .