Blockchain represented a revolution in the financial and technology markets. The rise of Ethereum, as well as networks focused on smart contracts, further extended the scope of this technology. Over the years, advances in the development of decentralized apps attracted new investors and users to the ecosystem.

Cryptocurrencies were not only a store of value or means of exchange anymore. The decentralized and perpetually available nature of blockchains allowed for the creation of marketplaces, virtual spaces, etc.

The number of possibilities boosted the growth of the sector. For this reason, analysts estimate that the blockchain technology market will be worth over 39 billion USD by 2025. Besides, almost one-third of this value will be invested in the banking sector. To access DApps, investors only need to buy Ethereum at an exchange and start participating in the crypto community.

Ethereum’s blockchain, the second-largest by market value, hosts the majority of dApps in the ecosystem. So, it requires a high throughput to process a large number of users. While this has been an issue in the past, Ethereum developers are working to improve and scale the network.

Exploring the Core Concept of The Purge

The road to scale the Ethereum network marked a major milestone with the transition from PoW to PoS mining. This reduced the fees charged by the network and the time it took users to wait for their transactions to be settled. But Ethereum still has room to improve, and it must do it to stay ahead of the competition. So, now developers are planning on implementing an upgrade known as The Purge.

This upgrade focuses on simplifying the Ethereum network. This feature, however, will not compromise decentralization. Instead, it will deepen it, by redistributing the history of the blockchain across different node groups. This is similar to the sharding process implemented on other blockchains.

To declutter the network, the upgrade will allow nodes to process transactions from checkpoints. This, in exchange, reduces the impact of the process on the devices of validator nodes. The Purge will also benefit nodes by removing fragments of code that remain from PoW mining. These are no longer necessary on PoS. The proposal also aims to improve smart contracts, by optimizing their codebase.

Ethereum is a very popular network for creating applications. These five crypto projects on Ethereum are used around the world, and there are a lot more with huge user bases. So it is important to create a functional network for them.

Ethereum’s Purge Strategy Goals

The goal of The Purge, as we said, is to optimize the network by reducing the historical data and streamlining the code bases. Let’s review how these features are implemented in detail.

  • Simplified protocols: The proposed upgrade aims to simplify the processes throughout the network. For nodes, it will clean up the codebase of the Ethereum client, making it faster to run. Developers will be able to create and manage smart contracts better, and they will run faster as well.
  • Resource load reduction: The Purge will allow nodes to use “blobs” of information. These will enhance the process of handling the data. It will remove older blocks, to reduce the size of the network and the storage requirements for nodes.
  • Historical data management: Currently, nodes must download the entire blockchain history. The Purge proposes to segregate the chain’s history and allow nodes to only hold one part of it. This feature, along with the previous one, will ease the process of running a node.
  • Enhanced decentralization: These features will improve decentralization in two ways. First, they will split the network across different sets of validators. Second, a lighter infrastructure will make it possible for new users to run nodes. This way, they can take part in the validation process.

The Purge’s Influence on Ethereum’s Future

In general, upgrades to the Ethereum network have been well received by the community. As a result of the congestion and scaling issues that took place in recent years, investors and developers have been eager to implement beneficial changes on the blockchain. These hard forks have been adopted by all nodes, and they have not resulted in network splits.

The Merge had a positive impact both on adoption and market price. Since The Purge is expected to draw in new nodes and foster the development of new dApps, we can assume that Ethereum will benefit from the upgrade. It will grow its user base and become more decentralized, and it will also see a surge in price.

Conclusion

As blockchain technology advances, developments in the industry also continue to grow. The competition in the smart contracts field has led Ethereum to focus on improving its infrastructure. The Purge is just another step in this process. Taking into account the number of competitors that have gained prominence in the last couple of years, it is no surprise that the community is implementing changes to maintain its position as the leading dApps blockchain.