The Ethereum network has undergone the London hard fork, with some major upgrades expected to make transactions easier for users.
Ethereum network undergoes a major upgrade
The Ethereum network has undergone a major upgrade with the implementation of the London hard fork. The activation today is the culmination of months of work as it involves one of the five Ethereum Improvement Protocols (EIPs), called EIP-1559, that London contains.
London is the name of today’s hard fork. The goal of the upgrade is to improve the quality of life for Ethereum users. While the cost of using the Ethereum network will not be cheaper with this upgrade, it is expected to make it more predictable. This is the main objective of the EIP-1559 upgrade.
The EIP-1559 seeks to adjust the makeup of Ethereum’s fee market. At the moment, Ethereum users must bid for how much they intend to pay to have ETH transactions picked up by a miner. This process is quite expensive sometimes. However, following the London fork, the process will be handled by an automated bidding system with a set fee amount that fluctuates based on how congested the Ethereum network is.
Ethereum inches closer to a proof of stake switch
The Ethereum network continues to move closer to its switch to the proof of stake (PoS) protocol. This protocol will eliminate miners from the network since coins will be staked instead.
The switch to a PoS is expected to solve some of the numerous problems plaguing the Ethereum network, including scalability, exorbitant transfer fees and high energy usage for mining purposes.
