The Ethereum Foundation has removed all references to Eth1 and Eth2, calling the original blockchain the "execution layer" and the upgraded proof-of-stake chain the "consensus layer."
Ethereum’s long-awaited transition from a proof-of-work mining model to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism is expected to go live around the second or third quarter of this year.
In announcing the change, the foundation cited a number of reasons, including "breaking the mind-set of new users," scam prevention, inclusivity, and staking transparency.
In a Jan. 24 blog post, the Ethereum Foundation noted that the name Eth2 fails to accurately capture what is happening to the network through its series of upgrades:
“One of the main problems with the name Eth2 is that it breaks a mindset for new users of ethereum. They intuitively think that Eth2 will come first. Or that once Eth2 exists, Eth1 ceases to exist.”
“Neither of these claims is true. By removing the Eth2 term, we can avoid this confusing mindset for all future users,” the post reads.
Under the new terminology, the combination of the execution layer (Eth1) and the consensus layer (Eth2) will be labeled Ethereum, while individual functions such as the beacon chain, merged and shared chains are now referred to as "upgrades."
Eth2 Renamed: Ethereum Foundation
The foundation also said that its rebranding to Eth2 will help "clearly eliminate" scams in which malicious actors trick victims into not knowing that their ETH will be automatically converted to Eth2 after the merger — exchanging ETH for fake ETH2 Token.
"Unfortunately, malicious actors are trying to exploit the Eth2 misnomer to trick users into exchanging ETH for 'ETH2' tokens, or that they must somehow migrate ETH before the Eth2 upgrade," the post reads.
On the r/Ethereum Reddit subreddit, the reaction to the news was relatively lukewarm, with most users joking about the change or complaining that the merge took too long.
Reddit user ghfsgiwaa said: "Whatever it's called, just post it as soon as possible."
User Kristkind said it was "too late" to try to rebrand, noting that the Eth2 term has already been widely adopted by the media and users:
“Everyone in the media, even crypto people, use the term 2.0 or Eth2. Honestly, I think it’s better because [it’s] easier to understand than a ‘consensus layer’ for a (semi) layman, The 'consensus layer' requires you to understand the architecture of the network."
After the planned merger and transition to PoS later this year (for real this time), the remaining milestone on Ethereum’s current roadmap is the shard chain upgrade that will take effect in late 2022/early 2023.
The introduction of shard chains will allow Ethereum's network load to be distributed across 64 new chains to enhance its scalability and capacity.
While 2022 is a fundamentally bullish year for Ethereum, the price of Ethereum has been hit hard by the current downturn in the stock market and crypto markets, down 40% over the past 30 days, as of the time of writing , the price of Ethereum is around $2437.
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“There is a lot of underlying demand for decentralized options in the staking market — it just needs our launch to spark a fire,” said Rocket Pool managing director Darren Langley.
CointelegraphThe ETH 2.0 deposit contract can only be unblocked after the PoS transition, postponed to the latter half of the year.
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