The initial phase of an Ethereum blockchain upgrade that’s been in the works for years has launched.
The beacon chain for Ethereum 2.0 allows investors in the second-largest cryptocurrency to stake their coins and earn rewards in return for powering the network.
It also promises to greatly increase the amount of transaction volume that the network can process using second-layer solutions, with a long-term target of 100,000 transactions per second in mind according to Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin.
Today’s launch of Ethereum 2.0’s “Phase 0” became inevitable once Ethereum holders sent the required 524,288 ETH into the deposit contract.
Ethereum owners with at least 32 ETH can stake their coins, but their investment will remain locked until Phase 1 rolls out, which could take a year or more to happen.
Crypto platforms are already jumping in to streamline the staking process. Coinbase is the latest to announce that it will allow users to easily convert their ETH to the new beacon chain and stake their coins on the exchange.
The price of ETH has surged in the weeks and months leading up to the launch. ETH is at $606 at time of publishing, up 0.36% in the last 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap.
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