Ethereum Closer to PoS After Successful Goerli Testnet Merge

Goerli has successfully transitioned to proof-of-stake following the network’s total block difficulty having crossed 10,079,000 on Wednesday.

article-image

Blockworks exclusive art by axel rangel

share

key takeaways

  • Ethereum’s third and final testnet has now successfully moved to proof-of-stake
  • The testnet Merge was not without hiccup, with some nodes getting stuck on the wrong chain

Ethereum testnet Goerli now switched to proof-of-stake (PoS), representing the third and final step before the long-anticipated Merge.

Goerli successfully transitioned to PoS shortly after the network’s total block difficulty crossed 10,079,000 at around 9:45 pm ET.

Two other testnets — Ropsten and Sepolia — ditched proof-of-work (PoW) over the past two months, with Goerli’s version of the Merge only going ahead as those were successful.

According to Ethereum developer Marius van der Wijden, confusion arose on the network due to two separate and unique terminal blocks. There was also “lots of non-updated nodes,” leading to an unexpected delay. The Merge was anticipated to go live earlier in the day.

Loading Tweet..

Despite those initial speed bumps, the testnet appears to be operating as intended. The advent follows a successful upgrade to Goerli’s beacon chain, Bellatrix, earlier this year.

Ethereum’s blockchain has now edged closer to a full transition to PoS in what is known as the Merge, designed to pivot the chain to a more environmentally and energy-efficient protocol.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has been pushing the idea of converting Ethereum to PoS since 2015.

The Merge is likely to culminate in mid-September, according to proponents.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Research Report Templates.png

Research

Ethena Labs is leaping from its flagship synthetic dollar, USDe, to a full product suite—USDtb, iUSDe, and the Arbitrum-based Converge Chain—designed to marry crypto-native yields with TradFi-grade compliance. Our analysis shows how expanding into CME, ETF options, and tokenized Treasuries could lift protocol revenue from sub-$500 million in a bear case to several billion dollars if favorable regulation and institutional adoption align.

article-image

Bitcoin is still rising, 11 years after the documentary film The Rise and Rise of Bitcoin

article-image

Arch Labs CEO told Blockworks that the team plans to launch a native token, but declined to give details

article-image

CEO Mike Silagadze tells Blockworks that the US is “open for business” and why its DeFi bank offering is the first of many

article-image

Doing one thing well and leaving everything else out is often what disruptive technologies do best

article-image

Why an analyst is kicking off COIN coverage with “buy” rating