Ethereum “Merge” is now closer than ever with Kiln testnet now public

The days of a proof of stake Ethereum mainnet are getting closer as the network takes another step closer to achieving this with the launch of the Kiln testnet. 

The Ethereum Foundation announced on March 14 that network shareholders should use Kiln to run tests. This confirms that the Kiln testnet is now live, and the tests will “ensure a smooth transition on existing public testnets.”

What is Kiln Testnet

The Kiln is the final phase of Ethereum merge testnets. It comes after the Kintsugi testnet launched last December and will be the last public testnet before Ethereum transitions into a PoS consensus. 

Kiln, the next iteration of Ethereum merge testnets, is now live ??

Highly recommended that node operators, application developers, stakers, tooling/infra providers test their setups on the network. Blog post has all the info to get started ?https://t.co/TCHBZxcFlt

— Tim Beiko | timbeiko.eth ?? (@TimBeiko) March 14, 2022

The Kiln merge testnet is the final testnet and marks Ethereum readiness for proof of stake to now.

The Kiln was launched as a proof of work layer parallel to a PoS Beacon chain. But it will transition into a proof of stake consensus within the week. According to the announcement, this will likely happen as soon as March 17.

With the launch of the testnets, developers, stakers, node operators, infrastructure providers, and other stakeholders on the Ethereum network are advised to test their setup on the network. 

Got the Kiln Testnet working perfectly, bring on the merge @superphiz @remy_roy thanks for the great tutorials. pic.twitter.com/jtOCaX2m8W

— Ethereum CLWP ? EIP-4736 (@EthCLWP) March 14, 2022

The statement reads:

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

The announcement also contained detailed instructions on how each stakeholder can use the testnets appropriately. Some have already used the testnet and have given positive feedback.

What is next for Ethereum

Ethereum’s transition from proof of work to proof of stake has been going on for years now. The merge’s completion will significantly impact the Ethereum network and the entire crypto ecosystem. 

As the number one smart contracts platform, a transition to proof of stake redefines the blockchain and would encourage scalability. According to the beacon chain community organizer, Superphiz,  the merge will reduce its energy footprint by 99.98%.

When is the Merge

There’s no specific date for the merge yet, except that many analysts believe that it’ll be in the second quarter of the year —between June and July. The Ethereum difficulty bomb, which will make mining impossible on the network, is set to go off around that time. 

Thus, developers will have to go ahead with the merge or implement another hard fork to shift the difficulty Bomb forward.

Ethereum is currently trading at around $2,500 after a 2.5% drop in 24 hours. While the network still maintains most of the market share for DeFi, the growth of other smart contract-enabled blockchain has upped competition within the space.