Important:
The Ethereum 2.0 merge was completed successfully and without incident. The network was suspended for approximately one hour only, between 06:30am -> 07:20am UTC. We will keep monitoring the network during the coming hours to verify its stability and integrity.
Introduction
The Ethereum 2.0 merge is due to occur around September 15th, 2022. It is expected to affect all activities on the Ethereum network.
The new Ethereum Proof-of-Stake (PoS) network aims to solve various challenges that the current Ethereum network suffers from. It is primarily characterized by greater scalability, which leads to faster transactions and enhanced security. The network’s operation is based on a Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm.
The expected merge is not considered to be a hard fork, and consequently, the ETH coin will remain as is.
Prior to reading further, it is recommended you review our general article on handling forks and updates.
Changes to the merged PoS Ethereum chain
No behavior changes are expected to the merged PoS Ethereum chain on the Fireblocks platform. The ETH native asset ID and name will remain the same. All the corresponding tokens operating on top of the Ethereum blockchain will also keep their current property values (i.e. their IDs, names, contract addresses, decimal numbers, etc).
Confirmations
This merged PoS blockchain is not expected to have any implications on the current confirmation process nor on block and transaction structure and format.
Merge downtime
Fireblocks will suspend all Ethereum blockchain outgoing transactions during the merge, which is estimated to take place on Thursday, September 15th, 2022, at 04:23 AM UTC, while accounting for a time range between 02:35 AM and 06:15 AM UTC. Additionally, for security reasons, we will also suspend all outgoing transactions across all EVM chains (for the full list of chains see the list at the bottom of the page).
During the downtime, if you attempt to execute an outgoing transaction of any kind, an internal error message will appear in the console, or alternatively, transactions will be moved to FAILED/INTERNAL ERROR when submitted via API.
The downtime will commence 30 minutes prior to the merge initiation and remain in effect for approximately 2-4 hours, during which we will be monitoring the network very closely until all operations could be safely resumed.
Possible forked PoW chain
The miners community, which now considers the possibility of forking from Ethereum PoS into a new Proof-of-Work (PoW) blockchain, is planning to set a new chainID for a completely separate chain (i.e. a brand new Ethereum Classic version). This will effectively protect ETHW users from replay attacks on the PoS chain and other forks. Additionally, Fireblocks will continuously look out for any unlikely event where a forked chain maintains its original chainID.
New wallet
In the case of a new forked PoW chain with a new base asset (e.g. ETHW), you would either need to add a new asset wallet with ETHW to your vault, or Fireblocks may decide to automatically add it to all vaults which have ETH wallets. Additionally, Fireblocks may support smart contracts on the forked PoW chain. These alternatives have yet to be decided on, as we are watching closely for any developments related to the PoW chain and would update you once a decision is made.
Exchange integration
We are collaborating with all of our exchange partners to ensure that we remain up-to-date with the most recent developments.
During the merge, all exchange withdrawals and deposits on all EVM blockchains will also be suspended (for the full list of these blockchains see the list at the bottom of the page).
Some of our exchange partners are expected to suspend their own operations prior to Fireblocks doing so. In this case, we will suspend transactions to/from these exchanges in tandem with their own suspension.
Fireblocks will resume its integration with each exchange once the exchange confirms its operations have been fully migrated to the Ethereum PoS chain.
Once the Ethereum merge is complete, we will consider providing support to withdrawals and deposits of PoW-based assets in the exchanges which intend to support such activities, depending on customer interest. In case you are interested in Fireblocks supporting ETHW on a particular exchange, contact your Customer Success Manager.
Just as the forked PoW version is a duplication of the PoS chain, the funds will also be fully duplicated on the forked chain, and therefore no airdrops are expected.
Cross-chain payments
Once a forked PoW chain is supported on Fireblocks, you will be able to quickly transfer PoW tokens to any different address on the same chain, and execute other supported operations, as with any other blockchain Fireblocks supports. It is important to note, though, that some tokens on the forked chain may drop in value significantly (e.g. USDC on Ethereum PoW).
Goerli and Sepolia
Goerli completed its merge to PoS. Sepolia is on our longer-term roadmap, however, we cannot yet share its exact transition date.
Bellatrix upgrade
The September 6th Bellatrix upgrade is relevant only to already existing ETHPoS node operators. Fireblocks does not maintain such nodes, and therefore this upgrade will bear no effect on the Fireblocks platform.
EVM transaction
Initiating an EVM transaction during the merge downtime will not be possible.
List of Blockchains Fireblocks will suspend during the merge:
Arbitrum
Avalanche
Binance Smart Chain
Celo
Chiliz
Ethereum
EVMOS
Fantom
Moonbeam
MoonRiver
OP Mainnet (Optimism)
Polygon MATIC
Ronin
RasK Smart BTC (smart bitcoin)
Songbird
TokenEx
Velas
Xinfin Network
To learn more about how Fireblocks plans to deal with this merge, refer to our Handling blockchain forks & upgrades< article.