Ethereum Merge plans in full swing as Teku, Geth release update

Ethereum 2.0 client Teku released the version 22.8.1 update on August 22, including the Bellatrix network upgrade and Merge configuration.

The document stated that all mainnet users must complete the upgrade before September 6 in preparation for the Ethereum Merge scheduled for September 15.

Teku v22.8.1 is now available.
This is a required update for all Mainnet users to prepare for the merge. 🐼🚀

See the docs for more info on required preparation: https://t.co/BWnbxt6BH1

Full details and downloads: https://t.co/v7YIIJyNC5

— Teku (@Teku_ConsenSys) August 21, 2022

According to instructions accompanying the update, all mainnet nodes must connect to a local execution engine API, and Validators have to set a default fee recipient.

The update is very important for both the execution client and Teku. Without it, Teku will report a Merge transition configuration error” or “Execution Client is offline.”

Additionally, it “sets the Bellatrix fork epoch and TTD (terminal total difficulty) for The Merge on MainNet” and simplifies the standard REST API use.

Other improvements include the configuration of multiple beacon nodes for one validator, primed cache for new justified endpoints, and the ability to stay in optimistic mode even without a viable branch in the block tree.

The update also fixes several bugs, such as the “NullPointerException,” repeated timeout exceptions, and the calculated payload issue.

The tweet also included a document explaining how Teku beacon nodes users and validators can prepare for merge.

Geth releases Merge update

Ethereum client Go Ethereum (Geth) has released  Geth v1.10.22 (Promavess), its first merge update.

A long time in the making, the #Ethereum Merge is finally arriving!

We’ve just released Geth v1.10.22 (Promavess), our first mainnet-merge release. #golang

Please note, The Merge will require both an execution client (Geth) and a consensus client.https://t.co/lv6RrLgzYX

— Go Ethereum (@go_ethereum) August 22, 2022

According to Geth’s GitHub, the update enables Ethereum mainnet merge at a Terminal Total Difficulty 58750000000000000000000 scheduled for September 15.

According to available information, it would take an average of 872.2 TH/s to achieve the required final TTD. The current hash rate is around that range with a total difficulty of 56938771076282196928114.

The announcement added that “the Merge will require both an execution client (Geth) and a consensus client.”

Interest in staking soars

Interest in staking has also increased in the past few weeks as data on Etherscan shows that the contract address balance is now at 13,344,424 (over $20 billion).

OKLink data showed that staking now accounts for roughly 11.17% of Ethereum’s total supply. It continued that 153,000 ETHs have been staked since August, with around 36,000 ETH added weekly.

Ethereum price tumbles

Ethereum’s price has declined by over 18% within the last seven days as the community continues to discuss how the merge could affect how censorship resistant the asset becomes.

According to CryptoSlate data, Ethereum’s price slid below $1600 to as low as $1556 on August 20.

Ethermine, Ethereum’s largest miner, stopped processing Tornado Cash-related transactions in the wake of the sanction on the crypto mixer. DeFi platforms like Aave, Uniswap, Balancer, and others also barred addresses connected to the sanctioned platform.

Meanwhile, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has revealed that the firm would shut its staking services if regulators requested it to censor transactions.