Broader crypto community reacts to Merge

From supporters to critics, everyone is talking about the successful execution of Ethereum Merge

Published: Sep 16, 2022 05:10:52 PM IST

Updated: Sep 16, 2022 05:12:53 PM IST

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A day has passed since Ethereum successfully transitioned from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake. In the wake of the Merge—one of the most significant upgrades in Ethereum’s history—the crypto community is still abuzz with excitement, with congratulations pouring in from all over the world, as well as criticisms.

The last Ethereum block using the old proof-of-work consensus mechanism was mined on Thursday, September 15 at 06:42:42 UTC, marking the beginning of a new era for the broader crypto community.

Many Ethereum developers, experts, and community members have taken to Twitter to express their thoughts on the success of Merge, including Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. “And we finalized! Happy merge all. This is a big moment for the Ethereum ecosystem. Everyone who helped make the merge happen should feel very proud today.”, Buterin wrote.

Another reaction came from Changpeng Zhao, CEO of the world’s largest crypto exchange. He tweeted, “Merge successful. POS activated. We are all still here.”.

In his congratulations, Nischal Shetty, CEO of Indian crypto exchange WazirX, noted Ethereum's role in building the Web3 ecosystem and how it was the "OG of smart contracts".

“Epoch's are finalizing. Proof of Stake Ethereum is here! Congratulations to the entire community,” said Joe Lubin, the CEO of Ethereum software company ConsenSys.

In another tweet, Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse called it a "truly incredible technological feat," while Yuga Labs said it was an important step in scaling Ethereum to its “first billion users.”

As expected, skeptics also voiced their opinions. Journalist Jordan Schachtel said Ethereum became a "WEF (World Economic Forum) coin" due to the Merge that "puts all value and control in the hands of people at the top.”

"ETH fanboys watching the merge with anticipation is funny”, said Samson Mow, a former chief strategy officer at Blockstream. “There can be no technical failures in Ethereum because Ethereum's existence isn't predicated on any technology - it already failed in 2016 with the DAO fork. What exists today is a database run by a marketing company,” he added.

Shashank is the founder at yMedia. He ventured into crypto in 2013 and is an ETH maximalist. Twitter: @bhardwajshash