Ethereum has completed The Merge on Ropsten Testnet, Ethereum’s oldest testnet, transitioning from Proof-of-Work consensus to Proof-of-Stake in preparation for the Ethereum Merge this August.

The Ropsten Testnet Merge offers insight into how things will be when Ethereum switches to a less energy-intensive consensus mechanism, a move that is set to solve Ethereum’s high transaction costs by making Ethereum more scarce. In August, the new consensus is set to reduce the network’s energy consumption by 99% and decrease ETH issuance to validators by 90%.

By permitting blockchain development testing prior to the mainnet release, the Ropsten Testnet Merge also offers developers early access to the mainnet merge with no actual cash at risk. 

The Ethereum core developer released the first upgrade notification on May 18. He disclosed that Ropsten’s Beacon Chain has been merged. Then, on May 30, another Ethereum developer announced the launch of a new beacon chain and the Bellatrix upgrade, two necessary prerequisites for the Ropsten Testnet Merge.  

Ethereum’s core developers will next deploy the Chain Merge on two more public testnets — Sepolia and Goerli — plus complete several more shadow forks on dedicated closed testnets. At that point, The Merge will be deemed ready for prime-time on mainnet.

Gnosis Chain, an Ethereum scalability solution previously known as xDai, is also gearing up for its own Chain Merge. The upgrade will see its Proof-of-Authority-based EVM chain merge with the Proof-of-Stake Gnosis Beacon Chain — which was launched in December 2021.