The Ropsten Ethereum Testnet is Ready for the Merge’s Dress Rehearsal

On the Ethereum network, the Ropsten testnet is poised to set the stage for Merge’s “first dress rehearsal” to adopt the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus method. Tim Beiko, a core Ethereum engineer, announced the introduction of a new Beacon Chain for Ropsten on May 31. It will act as a warm-up for the final Merge test, released “around June 8.” 📣 Ropsten Merge Announcement 📣 Ethereum's longest lived PoW testnet is moving to Proof of Stake! A new beacon chain has been launched today, and The Merge is expected around June 8th on the network. Node Operators: this is the first dress rehearsal💃https://t.co/0fDHObLOmn — Tim Beiko | timbeiko.eth 🐼 (@TimBeiko) May 30, 2022 The Ropsten testnet is one of many Ethereum client testing grounds. It has several features similar to the Ethereum mainnet, such as the usage of a worthless version of Ether (ETH) to perform transactions and the coding environment, but changes made there has no impact on the mainnet. Ropsten is Ethereum’s longest-running Proof of Work (PoW) testnet, starting in 2016. When Ropsten ultimately conducts its Merge, it will be a preview of what the actual Merge on the Ethereum mainnet would look like. The resulting consequences on the testnet, its apps, and clients will provide developers with the first-ever insights into what to expect from the mainnet Merge and how to avoid difficulties. Ropsten beacon chain genesis was a success! 🎉Few validators are offline and ex...