Ethereum's migration from the proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism to the proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism is one of the most awaited events in the cryptosphere. The transition will reduce energy consumption and gas fees while increasing the blockchain's processing efficiency.
Ethereum's difficulty bomb is an essential part of this transition to PoS. However, the dev's recent decision to delay the difficulty bomb indicates that we might have to wait a little longer for the switch to happen.
Why is that so? Well, to answer that, we must first understand what a difficulty bomb is and why it is essential to Ethereum's switch to PoS.
What is the Ethereum difficulty bomb?
The 'difficulty bomb' is a code ingrained in the Ethereum protocol since 2015. It is set to execute every time a specific number of blocks have been mined and added to the blockchain. As the name suggests, it makes the mining activity on the existing PoW blockchain significantly harder.
Transaction validation becomes exponentially more complex and approaches infinite difficulty over time. Therefore, the gulf between rewards received and energy spent keeps increasing to the point where mining is no longer viable.
Why is the difficulty bomb important?
This increased difficulty ensures that miners stop using the old PoW version of the blockchain and shift to the new PoS consensus mechanism. Without this deterrent, miners may choose to stay on the old PoW system, effectively 'forking' the blockchain into two chains, each with a different consensus mechanism.
Why is the difficulty bomb delayed?
The Ethereum difficulty bomb has been postponed five times since the protocol switch was announced. When the difficulty bomb is implemented, it indicates that the 'Merge' is very close and could happen anytime. The 'Merge' is an event wherein Ethereum's PoW blockchain will be merged with the new PoS blockchain.
Ethereum developers simulated the Merge on the Ropsten testnet last week as a "first dress rehearsal" to determine if any issues would be faced when it actually went live on the mainnet.
Based on the results and discoveries from the test merge, core developers have agreed to push the implementation of the difficulty bomb to August 2022.
Last month, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin had said that if the developers needed more time to fix the bugs, the difficulty bomb could even get pushed further to September or October 2022.
Moreover, Ethereum core developer Tim Beiko told Bloomberg that there is a 1 to 10 percent chance that the Merge will not be executed in 2022. Therefore, it is a general notion that a delay in the difficulty bomb indicates that the Merge will take longer than expected. Ethereum cannot make mining more difficult without giving nodes another, more viable option, i.e., staking.
However, when developers discussed the bug discoveries on 10th June 2022, they opined that postponing the difficulty bomb would not delay the Merge.
Soon after the call, Ben Edgington, another Ethereum core developer, tweeted, "So, we will push back the Ethereum difficulty bomb. We say it won't delay the Merge. I sincerely hope not. Every extra week on PoW generates close to 1 Million tonnes of CO2 emissions."
In the same conversation with Bloomberg, Beiko added that developer burnout was a legitimate concern if they go all guns blazing for the Merge without delaying the difficulty bomb. "If we do delay this, I think it should be a realistic delay to still maintain a sense of urgency," said Beiko. "But too much pressure pushes teams to burn out, that's also a situation we don't want to be in."
