In an article in CoinDesk they talked about Ethereum 2.0’s deposit contract which is now live, which as it says would mean the imminent unveiling of the “world computer’s” second act. Developer Afri Shoeden announced the release. The deposit contract is the first physical implementation of Eth2.0 for everyday users. It acts as a birdge between forth coming proof of stake blockchian and current proof of work mainchain.
The genesis time for Eth 2.0 was first set for Jan. 3, the 12th anniversary of the launch of the Bitcoin network. The date has been moved, the GitHub file shows, to Dec. 1. After publication of this article, the deposit contract file was confirmed by an Ethereum Foundation blog. In a statement to Coindesk, researcher Danny Ryan stated, “We’re all excited,” He adds, “This has been a long time coming, and countless researchers, engineers, and community members have put blood, sweat, and tears into this project. Feels good to finally bootstrap Ethereum’s long-awaited proof-of-stake consensus.”
ROn a practical level, Ethereum stakers can now begin depositing the 32 ether required to stake on Eth 2.0. Once 16,384 validators have deposited funds equivalent to a total of 524,288 ETH into the contract, the Beacon chain – the spine of Ethereum 2.0’s multiple blockchain design – will kick into action in what is called the “genesis” event of Ethereum 2.0. That event is expected within the next few weeks.
Stakers will begin earning inflation rewards after the genesis event by placing their ether as collateral on Eth 2.0. Staking rewards are reasonably high compared to other investments coming in between 8%–15% annually. And that’s for a good reason: Not only is there software risk, but the deposit contract to Eth 2.0 is a one-way bridge – at least for now.
On a larger level, the deposit contract and soon-to-launch Beacon chain represent a critical step toward a future that Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin foresaw some seven years ago: the creation of and need for a generalized, Turing-complete blockchain.
But now all eyes rest on the mainnet deposit contract and Beacon chain, ConsenSys Eth 2.0 developer Ben Edgington told CoinDesk in a message.
“Deployment of the deposit contract is the point of no return for Eth2. We have no choice now but to see this thing through right to the end. After 2.5 years working on this, I am incredibly excited about where we are, and what’s yet to come,” Edgington said.
