Ethereum Foundation confirms the next "Istanbul" update

On November 7, Péter Szilágyi announced the date of the imminent update of the foundations, known as "Istanbul". This update will be the eighth hard fork completed by Ethereum since the cryptocurrency was launched on July 30, 2015. Although Istanbul was slated to launch on December 4, this date has now been officially moved forward until December 7 of this 'year.

A hard fork in the street

Istanbul is expected to introduce numerous improvements to the Ethereum network. These include reduced scalability solutions at zero knowledge level two, greater operability with Zcash and changes in the price of gas for specific operations.

Monfex is happy to report that this update marks a milestone on the long journey to Ethereum 2.0, which is expected to demonstrate a "definitive" version of the cryptocurrency network.

Node operators take note

Any node operator will have until December 1, 2019 to update the relevant software. With Ethereum reassuring your network that customers like Parity, Geth, Nethermind and Besu will all be compatible with the "Istanbul" update.

The official Ethereum guide announced:

"If you are using an Ethereum client that is not updated to the latest version, your client will synchronize with the pre-fork blockchain once the update occurs. You will be stuck on an incompatible chain following the old rules and you will not be able to send ether or operate on the post-update Ethereum network ",

In the meantime, users of mobile apps, hardware wallets, web wallets and popular exchanges like Monfex are not required to act. This unless their service provider contacts them and urges them to take all necessary measures to ensure the security of their Ethereum.

Transition to serenity

Istanbul is destined to be the last hard fork of Ethereum's 1.0 network. The update will set the wheels of "Serenity" in motion, which is one of the five stages of improvement in the transition to Ethereum 2.0.

Ethereums co-founder Vitalik Buterin explained these five stages in his speech to Devcon 2018, he announced,

“Serenity is guided by five design principles: simplicity, resilience, longevity, security, decentralization. The step-by-step approach to Serenity aims to ensure that all principles are developed and confirmed, further positioning Ethereum as a market leader in blockchain-based solutions. "

Before "Istanbul" is released as an update, Casper will be activated and the network will switch to the "Stake test" algorithm. Additionally, there are plans to launch another major update called "Berlin" by the end of June 2020.

The global Ethereum community currently depends on "Ethereum improvement proposals" as a vehicle of governance. These proposals offer specific suggestions for changes to smart contract standards, changes to the main protocol, and client APIs.

The Ethereum community is currently pushing for a "EIP-centric" approach to system updates. This approach allows smaller and more frequent forks to develop proposals at a slower pace. The first hard fork of its kind in this paradigm will be next year's "Berlin" update. Istanbul will take what is known as a fork-centric approach, in which various proposals have been reviewed and presented at various stages of the life cycle during any Core Calls or developer meetings.