On Monday, Ethereum developers implemented the network's first-ever "shadow fork," a significant step for the ongoing transition to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus.

⠀

The shadow fork allows developers to stress-test existing assumptions around the network’s transition to PoS, according to Ethereum Foundation developer Parithosh Jayanthi: “The aim of the Kiln merge testnet was to allow the community to practice running their nodes, deploying contracts, testing infrastructure, etc.,” he tweeted on Sunday.

⠀

Kiln is the final testnet of the merge, which is when Ethereum's Execution Layer transitions from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake (PoS). The Ethereum Foundation described the merger in a recent blog post as the "culmination of six years of research and development" aimed at making the network more secure and energy-efficient.

⠀

At the time of writing, the new Ethereum shadow fork network has processed over 3.2 million transactions. In addition, 1.6 million wallet addresses have registered and over 14.5m blocks, each with a production time of around 13.3 seconds.

⠀

For more from us at Waivly, join our free fun-to-read and to-the-point newsletter enjoyed by hundreds of people across the internet every day of the week 👇