MIT Names Ethereum PoS 'Top Technological Breakthrough' In 2022
MIT detailed how a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism can safeguard digital money while also addressing the crypto industry's energy consumption issues in a research released on its technology review website.
"If all goes according to plan, Ethereum, which is also the world's second-largest cryptocurrency, will shift to it in the first half of 2022," according to the report.
Other 'important players' to watch in the PoS arena, according to MIT, are Cardano ADA, Solana SOL, and Algorand ALGO.
The institution emphasized the significance of 'The Merge' — the time when Ethereum formally switches to PoS and abandons the proof-of-work consensus — as a watershed moment that might pave the way for widespread PoS adoption.
According to MIT, "Ethereum will be the largest network to deploy proof-of-stake."
Unlike proof-of-work, the proof-of-stake consensus process does not need validators to solve equations; instead, validators are randomly rewarded based on the amount of money they stake.
Last year, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin claimed that switching to PoS might save the network 1,000 times its current energy consumption. Buterin is also aiding the Dogecoin DOGE blockchain with its own PoS network transformation.
It's worth mentioning that the move will not benefit all players in Ethereum's ecosystem. All PoW Ethereum mining activities would effectively come to a halt with the switch to PoS.
Ethereum miners such as Hut 8 Mining Corp and HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd have continued to invest in mining equipment despite the coming transition.