Post-Merge-Roadmap: Upgrades and Innovations
Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, has presented an ambitious roadmap for the future of the cryptocurrency. The roadmap, released in November 2022, illustrates the ongoing development and progress of Ethereum. Surprisingly, Buterin reveals that the transformation of Ethereum itself is only 55% complete even after the groundbreaking upgrade called The Merge. For the future, Ethereum has planned five significant upgrade stages, namely Surge, Scourge, Verge, Purge, and Splurge. The question arises: What innovative use cases will emerge with each upgrade?
In April, Ethereum successfully completed the Shapella upgrade, increasing the appeal of crypto investments for investors. The next major milestone planned for the end of 2023 aims to enable Ethereum to process 100,000 transactions per second, promising a more efficient future. Ethereum enjoys a reputation for innovation and frequently surprises the market with unexpected use cases resulting from blockchain improvements. With five upcoming upgrades, the potential for groundbreaking innovations within Ethereum is immense. Although the post-merge roadmap may appear complex and includes terms like „Proto-Danksharding,“ it represents a gateway to unlocking the full valuation potential of Ethereum.
The possibility of Ethereum flipping Bitcoin
In cryptocurrency circles, „the flippening“ represents a fascinating scenario. Historically, Ethereum has held the second position in terms of market capitalization after Bitcoin. However, there is speculation that Ethereum could eventually surpass and „flip“ Bitcoin. Ethereum stands out for its extensive utility, primarily due to its smart contract platform. It enables the creation of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized finance (DeFi), gaming, the metaverse, and Web3. Consequently, Ethereum is expected to experience faster growth than Bitcoin in the foreseeable future. Furthermore, Ethereum differentiates itself by transitioning to a modern proof-of-stake blockchain through The Merge, diverging from Bitcoin’s outdated proof-of-work blockchain. By eliminating crypto mining, Ethereum drastically increases energy efficiency by 99.9%. This factor is of considerable relevance amidst the ongoing discourse on environmental impact and climate change. The White House released a comprehensive study in September 2022, highlighting the harmful environmental consequences of Bitcoin mining. With increasing environmental awareness, more investors may switch from Bitcoin to Ethereum.
Ethereum’s path to a $1 trillion market capitalization
Although Ethereum undoubtedly has the potential to achieve a market capitalization of $1 trillion, the path ahead is challenging. Currently, only a few selected stocks reach such high valuations. The ascent of Ethereum to this milestone is likely to involve overcoming regulatory obstacles. Nevertheless, the medium- to long-term outlook for Ethereum is highly favorable. As long as Ethereum continues to implement its growth plan, there is a realistic chance of it becoming a trillion-dollar cryptocurrency within the next few years.