Ethereum core developers release Ropsten merge announcement, the longest-running PoW testnet

Ethereum core developer Tim Beiko today released the latest progress on the Ethereum merge, with the long-standing PoW test network Ropsten transitioning to a PoS consensus mechanism. To achieve this, two things must be prepared in advance.

Ropsten Merge Announcement

📣 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

After going through the mergers of the testnets Kintsugi and Kiln, as well as the stress test of the shadow fork, the Ethereum team is ready to merge the oldest PoW testnet, Ropsten. On 5/30, a Ropsten beacon chain has been launched to provide consensus for the network.

To successfully complete the merge of Ropsten, its beacon chain will upgrade the protocol rules to Bellatrix on 6/2 for compatibility. In addition, a PoW total difficulty value, known as the Terminal Total Difficulty (TTD), needs to be selected to trigger the consensus transition, and this value is expected to be announced this week.

The Ethereum Foundation has also released a related announcement regarding this merge, reminding node validators and infrastructure providers of some important changes to note. The announcement also reiterates that miners will no longer be able to mine on Ethereum in the future, while regular users and token holders need not worry about any impact.

What's Next?

Following the Ropsten merge, the other two testnets, Goerli and Sepolia, will be the next focus before the mainnet merge, while other testnets like Rinkeby and Kovan may be maintained and upgraded independently by the community, no longer monitored by client developers.