As Ethereum The Merge or ETH 2.0 nears, the industry is anticipating the biggest event of the year. At the same time, many Web3 platforms have announced they will support the Ethereum PoS merge. Here’s everything you need to know.

Ethereum is one of the largest blockchain networks, ranking second to Bitcoin, therefore, almost every Web3, NFT, DeFi, and decentralized app operate on it. In fact, Ether, the native coin of the Ethereum blockchain, takes up the second highest market capitalization, so many altcoins are also dependent on it. 

This is the reason that the day Ethereum started testing the merge, the crypto prices rose from the bearish pattern. Ether currently trades around $1,800 and is expected to rise once the merge officially happens.

Ethereum The Merge: What is all the hype about?

Before we dive into the purpose of this article, you should know what Ethereum the merge really is and why it is causing the market to rise so dramatically.

Ethereum The Merge is basically a process of Ethereum blockchain transitioning from Proof of Work (PoW) to Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus model. Does this sound complicated? 

In simple words, Ethereum is converting from its previous mechanism which was a miner-centric model where miners mined a new Ether consuming a huge amount of energy, into a stake-centric model where users stake existing Ether instead of creating a new one to verify transactions and mint coins; saving a lot of energy.

By converting Ethereum mainnet to PoS, it will improve its transaction speed, lower gas fee, high scalability, and be more environment-friendly. 

Ethereum The Merge was announced in December 2021, and officially began testing. The network completed its first testnet called Ropsten in June 2022, then the second test took place in July called Sepolia, and the final one in early August called Goerli testnet. 

Ethereum developers announced they are done with all tests, and now the final launch of The Merge on mainnet will take place on September 19, 2022. 

Top 5  Web3 platforms supporting ETH 2.0

Following the successful testnet launches, many Web3 platforms have announced they will be supporting Ethereum The Merge. It is essential for networks currently operating on Ethereum to be compatible with the new merge to ensure no bugs exist when the official launch happens.

Here are the top 5 Web3 platforms supporting Ethereum The Merge:

1. Crypto.com

Crypto.com recently announced it will support Ethereum The Merge on its app and exchange. In the official press release, the platform shared that it will momentarily suspend withdrawals and deposits of ETH and ERC20 tokens on its Crypto.com app and Exchange to ensure its users’ funds are safe. 

Additionally, since Ethereum The Merge will bring new forked tokens, the platform will thoroughly review them based on its regulations before officially listing them in the exchange for users. 

2. Binance

Binance, the world’s leading ecosystem & decentralized crypto exchange, also shared they will support the Ethereum merge and new forked tokens after reviewing them based on its internal policy.

Binance will enable its users to exchange, trade, or sell new forked tokens once it officially lists them on the exchange. 

3. USDC (Circle Coin)

USDC or USD Coin is a dollar-backed stablecoin based on the Ethereum blockchain launched in 2018. According to the official statement, USDC will also be compatible with Ethereum The Merge to benefit from its highly scalable solutions and reduced energy consumption.

The issuer of USDC, Circle shared that USDC has always been an influential stablecoin on Ethereum; “a core building block for Ethereum DeFi innovation.” USDC is already connected with Goreli testnet, so the stablecoin will most likely remain operating its on-chain capabilities on the day of the official launch. 

“USDC as an Ethereum asset can only exist as a single valid “version,” and as stated previously, our sole plan is to fully support the upgraded Ethereum PoS chain,” the statement reads. 

4. ChainLink

ChainLink has also shared that it will only support Ethereum PoS tokens and none of the PoW forks after the merge happens. The dev team also assured its consumers that the network will remain to function before and after the merge.

To ensure that its customers are hyper-aware of the Ethereum merge and how it will affect the ongoing operations, ChainLink recommended users pause their decentralized apps and smart contracts on the day of the merge for a quality check. 

5. Coinbase

Coinbase also announced support for Ethereum The Merge on its exchange. According to JPMorgan, Ethereum’s PoS model will most likely benefit Coinbase to expand its revenue.

The exchange has increased ETH staking on its platform for a few months, and with Ethereum’s merge, the staking will skyrocket to an all-time high, which will benefit Coinbase a lot.

Other than that, CoinEx Global, IoTeX.io, BTCEX, Tether, OVAL Protocol, APENFT Marketplace, and OKX will also support the upcoming Ethereum upgrade. Furthermore, Ave DAO has also issued a governance proposal for members to support Ethereum PoS Merge.

Final words

Although there is a lot of fear surrounding the upcoming upgrade, many companies have decided to officially support Ethereum PoS merge when it arrives. Some will pause their withdrawals to fully observe and protect their users, while others have been successful with integrating with the new Ethereum mainnet already. 

As The Merge nears, users from all Web3 platforms have been warned to be careful with phishing links and suspicious accounts because once the PoS merge happens, hackers will most likely try to benefit from the situation. Therefore, users should stay on alert and protect their digital assets at all costs.