‘The Merge’ can make crypto payments mainstream again: Vitalik Buterin

Once we have scaling technology […] it actually becomes possible to really try to make crypto payments more mainstream again,”Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin said during his keynote speech at the Korea Blockchain Week 2022 conference on Monday.

See related article: Prominent Chinese ETH miner plans proof-of-work fork amid The Merge

Fast facts

• “Cryptocurrency payments sort of became less popular after [2018],” Buterin said. “It’s pretty clear that fees are one of the reasons why.”
• “In the future, with rollups, with all of the improvements to efficiency… the transaction costs could go down to US$0.05 or even be as low as 0.2 cents,” the Ethereum creator said.

• Ethereum developers are expected to shift their focus to scaling the network after the highly anticipated upgrade known as “The Merge”.

• “The Merge” upgrade involves the Ethereum blockchain’s transition from the proof-of-work consensus mechanism to proof-of-stake.

• The update is expected to happen mid-to-late September “if all things go to plan,” according to Buterin.

See related article: Vitalik Buterin says Ethereum to be 55% complete post-merge