Ethereum 2.0 is approaching, how can we participate?

Original title: "OKLink taps @ you | Ethereum 2.0 is approaching, how can we participate?"

Original author: Ouke Blockchain

If blockchain has a hot search list, then Bitcoin and Ethereum are destined to dominate the top of the list throughout 2020.

The heat of Bitcoin halving has just subsided, and Ethereum 2.0 quickly took over. On June 15th, Beijing time, Ethereum officially launched the test network Onyx. Ethereum 2.0, which was once joked that "there are always 18 months left", has finally reached the final moment.

Consensys, an incubator for Ethereum-focused projects, is testing "Staking as a service" with the support of institutional users. This service allows institutional users to earn income from Ethereum 2.0. The first batch of participating institutional users include Matrixport, Crypto.com, Darma Capital, etc. They will provide usage feedback and feature requests for the Eth 2.0 Staking API that Codefi is building.

The participation of institutional users has raised people’s expectations for Ethereum 2.0. According to OKLink data, the number of Ethereum addresses holding at least 32 ETH has reached nearly 120,000, an increase of more than 14% compared to last year. It can be seen that in addition to institutional users, the interest of individual users is also growing.

Although it is still in the testnet stage, how to participate in Ethereum 2.0 has been discussed by more and more people. Today, follow OKLink to see a few questions you need to know about Ethereum 2.0.

Ethereum 2.0

What is Ethereum 2.0

Ethereum 2.0, also known as Eth2 or Serenity, is the fourth phase of the Ethereum roadmap and an upgrade to the Ethereum network.

Ethereum 2.0 is the result of the joint efforts of thousands of developers over many years. The upgrade of Ethereum 2.0 will be released in multiple "Phase", starting from Phase 0 and divided into 3 different phases: Phase 0: Beacon Chains; Phase 1: Shard Chains; Phase 3: Cross-shard transfers, contract calls, eWASM replacing the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Each phase will improve the functionality and performance of Ethereum in different ways.

First up is Phase 0, which is set to be released in 2020. After all, developers start counting at 0, not 1.

What will Ethereum 2.0 change?

The purpose of designing Ethereum 2.0 is to improve scalability, stability, and bring about some economic changes.

Ethereum 2.0 will use sharding to significantly increase network bandwidth and reduce gas fees, thereby reducing the cost of sending ETH tokens and interacting with smart contracts. From an economic perspective, Ethereum 2.0 will also bring some fundamental changes. Ethereum 2.0 will allow support for staking nodes and earn ETH as passive income.

In summary, the two main features of Ethereum 2.0 are sharding and staking. Sharding aims to improve the efficiency of network operation, and staking will completely eliminate the concept of Ethereum PoW. After the Ethereum 2.0 update is completed, Ethereum miners will face the crisis of "layoffs" or even annihilation.

At present, Ethereum miners may also switch to ETC mining. At that time, you can also use the OKLink blockchain browser to observe the changes in ETH and ETC computing power.

What does the launch of the Onyx testnet mean?

Since the development of Ethereum 2.0 began in 2018, four test networks have been implemented: Ruby, Sapphire, Diamond and Topaz.

The 4th Topaz test network is the first complete mainnet configuration of Phase 0. Topaz has been running well since its launch, with nearly 40,000 active validators. However, due to an error in the consensus rules, it is not compatible with multiple clients, and other clients cannot successfully synchronize the Topaz blockchain.

The Onyx test network, as the next iteration of Topaz, has made some important improvements to achieve the final specifications before the mainnet is launched and multi-client is ready. Unless there are serious vulnerabilities, there will be no more changes in the future.

How to participate in Ethereum 2.0

In addition to institutional users, individual Ethereum holders can participate in Ethereum 2.0 staking and earn returns in the following two ways.

The first way is to pledge 32 ETH to run your own verification node. Individual users need to deposit 32 ETH into the Deposit Contracts on Ethereum 1.0. This process is irreversible. Running your own verification node means that you have the responsibility to verify and organize blocks, and failure to do so may result in the loss of ETH.

In addition, individual users can also pledge ETH through staking service providers or join PoS mining pools, and anyone can receive staking rewards in proportion.

Rewards and penalties for staking Ethereum to participate in 2.0

It is well known that staking Ethereum can generate returns. The benefit of becoming a validator is that you can get ETH rewards. An executive at ConsenSys said that Ethereum 2.0 validators can expect to earn 4.6% to 10.3% per year.

But not everyone knows that Ethereum 2.0 also has a penalty mechanism. If the penalty mechanism is triggered, the staked ETH is at risk of loss.

The first way to trigger a penalty is if a user is offline and unable to perform their duties properly. The penalty in this case is relatively mild, and the amount of the penalty is roughly the same as the potential reward.

Another way to trigger the penalty mechanism is to publish contradictory information. Compared with the first method, the verification node that triggers the penalty in this way may suffer a large loss and be expelled from the system. The amount of the penalty ranges from 1 ETH to the entire staked assets, that is, 32 ETH. The detailed penalty amount depends on the specific situation.

Original link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com

BlockBeats reminds that according to the document "Risk Warning on Preventing Illegal Fund Raising in the Name of "Virtual Currency" and "Blockchain"" issued by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission and other five departments in August 2018, the general public is requested to look at blockchain rationally, not blindly believe in the exaggerated promises, establish correct monetary concepts and investment ideas, and effectively enhance risk awareness; any clues of illegal and criminal activities discovered can be actively reported to the relevant departments.