# Ethereum 2.0

By [nikki312](https://paragraph.com/@onexnft) · 2022-08-28

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In 2022, Ethereum plans to switch to [proof-of-stake](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/proof-of-stake-pos) with its [Ethereum 2.0 update](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/a-dive-into-ethereum-2-0). This switch has been in the Ethereum roadmap since the network's inception and would see a new [consensus mechanism](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/consensus-mechanism), as well as introduce [sharding](https://coinmarketcap.com/glossary/#sharding) as a scaling solution. The current Ethereum chain will become the Beacon Chain and serve as a settlement layer for smart contract interactions on other chains.

In late 2021, Ethereum's [Arrow Glacier update](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/ethereum-s-arrow-glacier-upgrade-to-delay-ice-age-s-difficulty-bomb-till-summer-2022) was delayed to June 2022. Until then, Vitalik Buterin expects the road to the network's [endgame](https://vitalik.ca/general/2021/12/06/endgame.html) to be shaped by [optimistic rollups](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/optimistic-rollup) and [Zk-rollups](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/zero-knowledge-rollups).

In January 2022, the Ethereum Foundation [announced](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/ethereum-2-0-is-dead-well-kinda) the decision to remove the “Ethereum 2.0” terminology to “save all future users from navigating this confusing mental model.” It went on to explain that the previously-referred-to terms of “Ethereum 1.0” would be branded the “execution layer,” while “Ethereum 2.0” will be called the “consensus layer”. This is ultimately to provide a more accurate version of the Ethereum roadmap.

In an update on the progress of the Merge, on April 13, 2022, Ethereum developer Tim Beiko [tweeted an update](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/the-merge-coming-soon-says-ethereum-developer) on the progress of the Merge, stating that they are “definitely in the final chapter of PoW on Ethereum.” He also mentioned that users can expect it to occur a few months after June, although no exact date was provided. This came on the back of the [first mainnet shadow fork](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/ethereum-launches-first-mainnet-shadow-fork) — to test the transition to PoS on Ethereum — that was successfully implemented on April 11, 2022.

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*Originally published on [nikki312](https://paragraph.com/@onexnft/ethereum-2-0)*