Speculation about the results of the merge happening in mid-September was immense and now that it has successfully occurred, we’re left to analyze what happened and what the future of the Ethereum network will turn into. 

While speculation about the post-merge life of Ethereum has not become the next hot topic for the blockchain, there is still enough evidence following its immediate switch to proof-of-stake to identify a few key takeaways from the new network which poses a lot of bullish sentiment. 

The Merge was a success 

To begin, the merge successfully transitioned onto the beacon chain which was the new blockchain designed to replace the Ethereum network. To prepare for this event, the Ethereum Foundation rolled out a series of testnet mergers in the months before to make sure that everything would run smoothly for the official merge - and it did. 

1. No one noticed

One remarkable aspect of the merge was how insignificant the moment felt. Following years of anticipation and delays, there was a lot of hype during the build up as many people wondered what would actually happen.

Yet, when the merge did happen, nothing exciting or really noticeable occurred. The network continued like normal, without so much as a hiccup. However, this was the best result possible. 

As mentioned before, mistakes on the blockchain are permanent and any slight error would have caused the blockchain to come crashing down. 

What this really speaks to though, is the immense amount of talent that exists at the Ethereum Foundation. Their ability to switch consensus mechanisms without any sort of errors on a network that is worth over $100 billion dollars cannot be overlooked.

This team has proven that they are trustworthy and confident in their work. As the network continues to improve over the years, we can rest assured that their ability to execute is among the best in the web3 industry. 

2. Carbon emissions are down

The most impactful result of the merge is how quickly it made a shift on carbon emissions coming from the miners that have been hashing Ether since 2016. According to Vitalik Buterin and his team, an estimated .2% of global carbon emissions will be reduced because of the merge and how it’s caused every miner on the Ethereum network to shutdown. 

This is incredible news because it shows that the environmental arguments against blockchain technology are weakening. For the longest time during the NFT bull run, many critics were discussing how detrimental the blockchain was to our planet, but now that the merge has been a success we can rest assured that one of the most popular networks on web3 is no longer going to cause any negative impacts on our ecosystems. 

3. Ethereum’s Price Dip

Lastly, there was a noticeable price dip in Ether following the merge which has seen it drop roughly $300 from $1,600 to $1,300; however this was to be expected as many people bought into Ethereum at its onset in anticipation for the merge to happen long before NFTs caused it to rise in popularity. 

Sell offs from major events like this are common and really mean that the Ethereum network is creating an easier entry point onto its blockchain. As the network becomes easier to use, we eagerly expect many new projects to begin which take advantage of the improved efficiency from the merge.