Ethereum 2.0 Major Changes
Fierce debates about how various platforms and systems in the technology space should work have become a thing. In recent times, however, none of these debates have been as fierce and as consistent as the topic of which blockchain or crypto project should dominate the world.
While Bitcoin by clear consensus is winning this battle, most experts believe this dominance is ephemeral.
As the first crypto network to be launched, Bitcoin in the last couple of years has shown that major modifications are needed if this dominance is to continue.
At the top of these problems is the network’s inability to scale efficiently.
With this knowledge, a ton of alternative blockchains have been designed to solve all of the inherent problems facing this network. For several reasons, these platforms have all failed to gain significant traction, except of course Ethereum which has become a single large-scale competition to Bitcoin.
Albeit an exemplary network in the crypto space, Ethereum still suffers from a couple of issues that according to experts have delayed its global dominance hence the need for a blockchain upgrade.
Tagged Ethereum 2.0, this upgrade is expected to launch in the latter part of this year.
Ethereum 2.0 Changes
Sharding
In a bid to improve the efficiency and scalability of the Ethereum network, Ethereum 2.0 update will introduce a process called “sharding”.
On the existing Ethereum blockchain, transaction data added to the chain will need to be verified by all of the network's participating nodes. In essence, this means that the processing speed on the network is limited by the speed of the slowest node. This increases the cost of transactions and reduces transaction speed.
By integrating sharding to the Ethereum network, the developers help to increase the network's overall efficiency.
Unlike the current verification style, sharding will break data processing or verification tasks into groups of nodes. Each of these groups will be responsible for the verification of newly received data.
This increases efficiency, lowers transaction costs, faster transactions, and most importantly, keeps the Ethereum network miles ahead of Bitcoin.
Embracing Proof-of-stake (PoS)
Like Bitcoin, Ethereum was built on the power-intensive and inefficient proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism. PoW enables participating nodes to compete in generating cryptographic hashes needed to satisfy the complex nature of the system. Albeit secure, this mechanism is completely inefficient.
The introduction of the efficient proof-of-stake mechanism to the network will greatly improve Ethereum. Unlike the PoW, PoS chooses the node that will record transaction data and the chances of selection increase when these nodes stake higher coins on the network.
Switch to Ethereum WebAssembly (eWASM)
One of the most unique features of Ethereum is that it allows developers to run smart contracts and decentralized applications (DApps) on its network. Powered by Ethereum Virtual Machine, the upgrade of the network's blockchain will see a switch to Ethereum WebAssembly.
Unlike EVM, eWASM enables third-party developers to execute codes, create smart contracts, and DApps on the network with any browser. Additionally, this new system will allow programmers to choose from a wide range of languages.
Assuming this update goes as planned, Ethereum could be on its way to end the Bitcoin decade-long dominance.
