Altair is here; merger is coming.
tl; dr
Altair Update, October 27
Altair, the first mainnet upgrade to Beacon Chain, has been scheduled for epoch 74240 (October 27, 2021, 10:56:23 am UTC).
A subtle but huge advantage of proof of stake is that we can precisely time updates (Sorry Tim! We’ll be done with proof of work soon 😉)
This update brings thin client support to core consensus, cleans up beacon state incentive accounting, fixes some issues with validator incentives, and increases punitive parameters. according to EIP-2982.
Big shout out to the customer teams for their work on this throughout the year 🙌
Stay tuned for another blog post on Monday, October 4. This will include all Mainnet Altair releases.
And then you can update your nodes!
Combine interoperability specifications and future development networks
He Merge Interop Specifications was released on Friday. This “meta-specification” provides stable targets for engineers for an initial wave of testing and development.
After a flurry of specification activity in recent months, the Merge specifications are almost complete and the core logic is stable. In this next phase, engineers will develop the merge logic and test their software with other teams in short-lived development networks. Engineers will examine the specifications as they stand today and provide proactive feedback on the specifications to refine and/or fix issues as they arise.
At the top of the list is validate and refine the Merge Engine API and prototype and specify various synchronization versions under the Merge paradigm.
The Proof of Stake replacement for Proof of Work has been years in the making, and we’re just as excited as you are to see it in action. Lots of fun coming in October 🏺🚀
