Ether jumps 11% as Ethereum merge completes final test before transition to a proof-of-stake network

• Ether jumped 11% Thursday after the blockchain ran a final test before pivoting to a proof-of-stake protocol. 
• The so-called Ethereum merge is expected to take place sometime next month. 
• A specific date for the network’s update will be decided at a developer meeting Thursday. 

Ether was higher Thursday after the Ethereum network ran a final, successful test-run ahead of its transition to a proof-of-stake protocol. 

The second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization jumped as much as 11% to $1,909.16. The token has been steadily climbing recently and is up 13% in the past five days. 

A transition to a proof-of-stake network has been in the works since 2020, and will allow Ethereum to significantly decrease the amount of computing power and energy consumption needed to complete transactions on the blockchain.

A proof-of-stake network would also lower the prerequisites for validators to use the system, requiring roughly 32 ether down from 1,500 tokens. 

Ethereum users have been testing the proof-of-stake protocol on the beacon blockchain since December 2020, running the tests adjacent to the existing proof-of-work network. 

On Thursday, the Ethereum Foundation said that a key checkpoint in the merge process — time to finalization — reached observer goals in “another successful test.”

When the merge will be completed has yet to be decided, with Ethereum developers meeting Thursday to discuss the matter. The merge has been pushed back several times to accommodate time for further research and tests to ensure a successful implementation. 

Ether is still recovering from a turbulent year for cryptos which has sent the token down 49% from January.