The value of Merge according to Vitalik Buterin

A little more than a month and a half after the launch of the new update, the Merge continues to cause debate in the crypto community and Vitalik Buterin himself. 

How the Ethereum ecosystem will change after the Merge: the words of Vitalik Buterin

Just a few more weeks and finally Ethereum’s highly anticipated new update, Merge, will shift the consensus system of the blockchain founded by Vitalik Buterin from the energy-intensive Proof of Work to the more sustainable and cost-effective Proof of Stake. 

A lively discussion about this important innovation continues. Ethereum, thanks in part to this news, has gained nearly 50% in a single week, after prices had slipped below $1,000.

Certainly, the development of this revolutionary new update has had a fairly troubled birth. Started on 1 December 2020, it was supposed to be ready in June 2022. Then, some difficulties highlighted in testing pushed the date back to August and then moved it again to the final launch date, which is scheduled for 19 September 2022.

Many experts claim that this new update will certainly bring great benefits in terms of sustainability, cost-effectiveness, and scalability, but there would still exist uncertainties about the level of decentralization and privacy of the new network. 

These issues were highlighted by the founder himself, Vitalik Buterin, who in a recent interview, had precisely expressed concern that Ethereum, with its new consensus system, could greatly diminish the level of decentralization of the network itself.

It is no coincidence that Ethereum’s own developers are still uncertain whether to fully adopt the new Merge for the network, or still leave the two systems running in parallel for a few months, to make the transaction between the two systems smoother.

Vitalik Buterin, beyond the concerns regarding less decentralization of the network, has been talking in recent days about this major news related to the arrival of the Merge and its possible repercussions that it will surely have on the whole network ecosystem.

The effects of the update from the perspective of Vitalik Buterin

In an interview, Buterin said that the Merge would not yet be “priced in”, not only by the market, but also in “psychological and narrative” terms. In other words, Buterin meant that until the real effects are seen, it is not possible to determine what the added value of the Merge will be.

According to the Ethereum founder, the price can only be expressed when the Merge is launched:

“I think it’s [The Merge] not going to be priced in pretty much until after it happens”.

Buterin also went on to talk about the effects, not only in economic terms, but also in environmental and sustainability terms that will occur after full implementation.

During a podcast, the co-founder of the world’s first programmable blockchain commented:

“You know, even today, a lot of people kind of act as though this environmental issue is this fatal flaw. At this point, I think the only way to convince a huge number of people that it’s going to go somewhere is just by actually going there. Once that happens, it’s going to change a lot of minds”.

From the point of view of market implications, Buterin argued that the price effects will certainly be there, but not until 6-8 months after launch, partially to actually see whether and how this innovation will bring the desired improvements to the network.

What is certain is that, according to many analysts, this sudden surge in Ethereum’s value has been consolidating after the release of the news of the certain date of the Merge’s launch. Partly because, as he wrote in a recent tweet, the development of Surge, Verge, Purge, and Splurge are also crucial to the full implementation of the update.

Merge + surge + verge + purge + splurge are not stages!

They are all happening in parallel.

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) July 25, 2022