Ethereum’s move to proof of stake (PoS) is inching closer as the network’s oldest testnet Ropsten is expected to transition to PoS on Wednesday night Asia time.

See related article: Ethereum PoS move is now being tested on a mainnet shadow fork

Fast facts

• Ropsten’s proof-of-work (PoW) chain will merge with its PoS Beacon Chain and combine to form a single PoS network.

• The exact timing of the merge may fluctuate, but according to an official blog post, it is expected to take place around June 8-9, subject to certain conditions being met.

• The testnet merge is a dress rehearsal for Ethereum’s mainnet merge, which will include the same process, scheduled for later this year.

• The Ropsten merge will help check whether client software to run Ethereum nodes function smoothly during the transition.

• The testnet merge will take place when the PoW chain of Ropsten reaches a specified difficulty level called Total Terminal Difficulty (TTD) of 50 quadrillion, which has been set to deter malicious actors.

See related article: Ethereum moves closer to proof-of-stake after Kiln