Ethereum makes history with Merge completion, CEO and community celebrate

The Ethereum community celebrated the successful transition of the Ethereum network to proof-of-stake (PoS) by releasing artwork and music that was influenced by Ethereum.

In honor of the Ethereum Merge, nonfungible token (NFT) artist Beeple, the maker of one of the most expensive NFTs ever sold, published an illustration showing a giant Ethereum logo that appeared to slowly emerge with help from what appears to be scientists.

Co-founder Vitalik Buterin joined the Ethereum Mainnet Merge Viewing Party live stream hosted by the Ethereum Foundation as the major Ethereum Merge neared its conclusion to offer its closing remarks. Through Twitter, Buterin congratulated the community and announced the start of Ethereum’s new era:

And we finalized!

Happy merge all. This is a big moment for the Ethereum ecosystem. Everyone who helped make the merge happen should feel very proud today.

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) September 15, 2022

Buterin said he is “very enthusiastic about being excited about the proof-of-work era” when asked if he was excited about the Merge. The co-founder continued by saying that it has been planned for years for the network to make the historic switch from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS).

I Survived the Merge, an NFT collection, showed adorable saplings saying amusing things like “the Merge was my idea” or “Merge Deez.” The animal that the community selected to represent the Merge—the Panda—was featured in a variety of artworks that were released as NFTs earlier this month as part of the ETH Pandas collection.

In addition to the artwork, a member of the community wanted to include some memories by making a music video for a song that was influenced by Merge. Through a song, musician Jonathan Mann provided a summary of Ethereum’s history. Mann welcomed the Merge with his musical prowess, singing songs with themes like “though the trip was hard, we pushed on” and “carbon footprint is all gone.”

✨🐼THE OFFICIAL MERGE SONG🐼✨https://t.co/uefE1JuCdh
👆the NFT of the song
(auction closes at 9/22 @ 3pm) pic.twitter.com/uuRdHID4om

— Jonathan Mann (@songadaymann) September 15, 2022

Buterin argues that the laws of physics are being reinvented by The Merge. PoW uses functionalities found in everyday objects like hardware, electricity, and computers to function. In contrast, PoS virtualizes everything, “essentially enabling us to create a simulation of the cosmos with its mechanics.”

With the help of these new optimizations, users and developers may scale the network in ways that weren’t feasible or sustainable in the past.