Ethereum 2.0 — The major changes

When Ethereum was launched, it promised the world that it is going to be a decentralized world computer. A computer as in a system that would run code for anyone in exchange for a fee. This public chain was first to introduce token sale, ICOs and loan distribution. Vitalik Buterin, the Founder of Ethereum, while explaining the platform draws its comparison with Google Play. Ethereum would make it possible for developers across the world to upload applications to the blockchain for use anywhere in the world.

Now, almost five years have passed, and no doubt, Ethereum became the host to many decentralized applications. However, the statistics reflect that a mere 3041 users came on the Insureum (Ethereum Dapp) in the last 24 hours, whereas apps like Instagram and Tik Tok have billions of visitors every day. Yes, Ethereum Dapps will take time for mainstream adoption. However, is the public blockchain network that a large number of users?

Scalability has always been an issue for blockchain and Ethereum is no different. In the year 2014, Vitalik Buterin made a statement that,

“We will either solve the scalability and consensus problems in Ethereum or die trying.”

In 2018, he updated his view and said,

“There is no significant unsolved theoretical problem left for Ethereum 2.0.”

This very statement made it clear that Ethereum developers hard work has paid off and now the world eagerly awaited the launch of Ethereum 2.0.

Ethereum 2.0 Solutions to Ethereum 1.0 Issues

• In the revised version, Ethereum is going to work on the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus. In this consensus, each node must stake its currency to participate in the network. This not only increases the complexity level of the blockchain but would also deter anyone from attacking the network.
• The blockchain will split larger databases into smaller, more manageable ones; this is known as sharding. By diving the database, Ethereum 2.0 would better deal with scalability and transaction speed. Moreover, this would also help to stop one application from slowing down others in the network.
• eWASM would help the system to execute the code faster. It also expands coding options and abilities of the Ethereum Virtual Machine.
• Ethereum is also adding Plasma to its newer version. The Plasma layer is going to sit on top of the network and would help to handle massive amounts of transactions.
• Raiden, also an off-chain scaling solution is akin to Plasma. Both Plasma and Raiden are said to be Ethereum’s answer to the Bitcoin Lightning Network.
• Serenity is going to another significant upgrade in the Ethereum 2.0 that creates a Proof-of-Stake chain that would help eSWASM, sharding to run on the new chain. With this new chain, scaling and mining solution, not only the way Ethereum is mined would change but also enable faster transactions (in theory currently). It is said that Serenity would increase the scalability of Ethereum blockchain as much as 1000x (in theory again).
• zk-snarks is also expected to be used as a temporary scaling solution.

Conclusion

It might take the developers of Ethereum 2.0 to be fully launched, even the developers of Ethereum admits it. However, the plan is ready to launch it in phases and it is bound to helping the digital asset including the decentralized apps.