Welcome to the Cryptohunt Jam, where we spend one minute a day to explain crypto. In plain English. 

Welcome to day 2 of our Ethereum Merge week special! Today: What exactly are we merging here anyway?

Generally speaking, merging is the process of combining several things into one. But what does that mean in the context of Ethereum?

Well, what if we told you that Ethereum has been living a secret double life? There hasn’t been just the “official” Ethereum, but a secret sibling has been working alongside the older brother.

This sibling is called the “Beacon Chain”. It’s essentially a copy of Ethereum, but one that uses a different method to validate transactions. And it does so completely in parallel. Both always end up having the same transaction record at the same time.

This is a genius trick the Ethereum developers pulled off, because at the time of the Merge, things can simply switch over to the Beacon chain and the older brother ceases to exist. Because they ran in parallel this entire recent time, they could make sure that things work and that switching over is seamless.

And that’s why it’s called the Merge: Two separate ways to validate Ethereum come together to replace the older one.

But how risk free is that actually and is your money safe? Stay tuned for tomorrow’s special on that.

Disclaimer: This podcast references our opinion and is for information purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Do your own research and seek a duly licensed professional for investment advice.