Ethereum looks to be on the rise as the network gets its Bellatrix upgrade. Futures contracts tracking the tokens reported $27 million in liquidations in the last 24 hours, behind only Ethereum futures and ahead of Bitcoin futures.
After suffering against severe adverse market headwinds, Ether’s (ETH) mood has shifted bullish with the Bellatrix upgrade as the Merge approaches. The second-largest cryptocurrency has gained about 7% in the last 24 hours and was trading above $1,665 at the time of writing.
The Bellatrix update is a critical step before the much-anticipated Merge, which represents the shift to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus process. This requires that node operators update their clients prior to Beacon Chain epoch 144896.
The Ethereum Foundation previously said that the Bellatrix update will take place on September 6 at 11:34 UTC and it occurred around 11:35 UTC. The Merge will still take place between September 13-15.
What is Bellatrix Hard Fork
Bellatrix is the final update that Ethereum’s Beacon Chain will get before merging with the mainnet later this month.
Each Ethereum node is now represented on two distinct layers: the proof-of-work layer (currently the main network) and the consensus layer (C layer). The Merge requires combining these two layers in order to convert to a PoS-based system.
An Application Programming Interface engine connects these levels. The Bellatrix upgrade will allow validators to begin creating new Beacon Blocks, which will then include the coding for combining the two levels.
What Happens After Bellatrix Upgrade
Following Bellatrix, the Merge will take place in the so-called “Paris” update. It is the execution layer’s share of the transition, and it will be activated by a Terminal Total Difficulty (TTD) of 58,750,000,000,000,000,000,000. This is scheduled to take place between September 13th and 15th.
When the TTD number is achieved, the network’s Execution layer will be merged with the new PoS Consensus layer, allowing the chain to continue with a new method for issuing and authenticating transaction blocks.
The difficulty level on Ethereum’s PoW network will climb to the point that mining new blocks will be impossible at the time of the Merge. The Merge will bring an end to Ethereum’s energy-intensive proof-of-work chapter. The next phases in Ethereum’s roadmap include reducing costs and increasing transaction speeds through sharding and rollups.
