ETH 2.0 will never be released
2 min readYes, that’s right, the long-awaited ETH 2.0 system will not see the light of day, at least not under its current name. In fact, the ETH team announced the total removal of the term from any and all communication as of Monday (24).
In other words, ETH 2.0 was cancelled, but not as a project, but as a nomenclature. The update will remain active, but will now be called the “Consensus Layer”. This change, entitled The Great Renaming (The Great Rename), was announced by the website ETH.org which belongs to the ETH Foundation.
As of now, the terms ETH 1.0 and ETH 2.0 are definitely retired. In their place, Execution Layer (ETH1) and Consensus Layer (ETH2) will be adopted as new terminologies.
Change reveals new character of ETH
According to the ETH Foundation, the change aims to adapt the new brands to the reality of the system. The old ETH 2.0 was seen as a revolution, a complete network change. Now the consensus layer will connotate just one more update.
Additionally, the changes will better convey the idea of continuity and integration between layers, with Execution and Consensus working together in the same system.
“A big problem with the ETH 2.0 brand is that it creates a broken mental model for new ETH users. They intuitively think that ETH 1.0 comes first and ETH 2.0 comes second. Or that with the arrival of ETH 2.0, ETH 1. will cease to exist. None of this is true. By removing the ETH 2.0 terminology, we saved all future users from navigating this confusing mental model,” the team explained.
At the same time, the term ETH 2.0, according to the Foundation, has become the target of Internet scams. These scams promoted schemes like “exchange your ETH for ETH 2.0” to steal cryptocurrencies from the most inattentive users. Likewise, scammers promoted fake “promotion” schemes from one network to another.
As the two layers are the same, the withdrawal of the term aims to protect ETH users from scams and make the ecosystem safer.
The Foundation also made it clear that the change is only in the name of the brands. Therefore, there will be no changes to the roadmap for future ETH updates.
Evolution of the consensus layer
The name consensus layer, by the way, reflects one of the main changes brought by the old ETH 2.0: mining. As per the update roadmap, the next phase involves the initiation of the Proof of Stake (PoS) protocol in ETH.
In short, the network intends to change its form of consensus, seeking to be more efficient in terms of energy. In this way, the consensus layer will ensure that all devices contributing to the network are acting according to the rules.
On the other hand, the execution layer will continue to be the place where all the smart contracts and network rules will be. Together, both remain the old and well-known ETH, the second largest blockchain network by market cap.
