Celebrating its fourth year, Researcher Justin Drake shares how Ethereum’s Beacon Chain has become a major milestone in the blockchain world.
Launched on December 1, 2020, the Beacon Chain marked Ethereum’s transformation into Ethereum 2.0 by adopting a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. This shift let users stake their Ether to earn rewards, changing how the network operates.
Starting with just 0.5 ETH
$3,611.35
staked on its first day, the Beacon Chain has grown. Drake calls it “the strongest foundation blockchains have ever seen”.
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The network has hit some impressive milestones, such as over 10,000 people participating in consensus, maintaining 100% uptime, securing $125 billion in economic value, and showing it can recover from 51% attacks with layer-0 slashing.
Drake emphasizes:
No other PoW or PoS chain comes close—the gap is immense. This is the power of long-term thinking, of taking the long and hard road.
Despite these achievements, Drake admits the Beacon Chain is “far from perfect”. He points out areas needing improvement, including improving delegation, lowering the required amount to stake, and speeding up how quickly transactions are finalized.
Seeing a “tremendous opportunity” to make Ethereum the settlement layer for the “internet of value,” Drake encourages everyone to get involved. He’s optimistic about the future, writing, “I invite you to get involved. Ethereum may just be humanity’s most ambitious and exciting decentralized computing project”.
While the Beacon Chain’s progress has been remarkable, the fight to improve Ethereum’s resilience and inclusivity continues. Recently, a new initiative called Buildernets has taken center stage, aiming to tackle censorship head-on. How is Ethereum stepping up in this battle? Read the full story.
Having completed a Master’s degree in Economics, Politics, and Cultures of the East Asia region, Aaron has written scientific papers analyzing the differences between Western and Collective forms of capitalism in the post-World War II era.With close to a decade of experience in the FinTech industry, Aaron understands all of the biggest issues and struggles that crypto enthusiasts face. He’s a passionate analyst who is concerned with data-driven and fact-based content, as well as that which speaks to both Web3 natives and industry newcomers.Aaron is the go-to person for everything and anything related to digital currencies. With a huge passion for blockchain & Web3 education, Aaron strives to transform the space as we know it, and make it more approachable to complete beginners.Aaron has been quoted by multiple established outlets, and is a published author himself. Even during his free time, he enjoys researching the market trends, and looking for the next supernova.