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The Merge
The Merge was Ethereum's switch from proof of work to proof of stake on September 15, 2022. The original Ethereum chain joined the Beacon Chain, a proof-of-stake chain running since December 2020, and validators who stake ETH replaced miners in producing blocks.
What it means for you. Holders did not need to do anything: there is no 'ETH2' coin to claim or swap, and ethereum.org says people claiming otherwise are likely scammers. The Merge also did not lower gas fees or enable staking withdrawals; withdrawals came in a later upgrade.
Sources: ethereum.org: The Merge, ethereum.org: The Beacon Chain, ethereum.org: Proof-of-stake · checked 4 October 2026
Beacon Chain
The Beacon Chain is Ethereum's proof-of-stake consensus layer, the part that decides which blocks the network accepts. It launched on December 1, 2020 as a separate chain to run validators, and became Ethereum's consensus layer at the Merge in September 2022.
What it means for you. Validator stakes, rewards and penalties are tracked by the Beacon Chain, separately from ordinary accounts, which is why staking dashboards show validator balances apart from wallet balances. ETH held in an ordinary wallet never needed to be moved to it.
Sources: ethereum.org: The Beacon Chain, ethereum.org: Proof-of-stake, ethereum.org glossary · checked 4 October 2026