Ethereum 2.0 Beacon Chain’s upgrade will finally be activated on the Pyrmont test network. It will be the first incompatible background upgrade for the software. Several code modifications will be performed as part of the update, with the brand name “Altair.”

These include higher penalties for invalid behavior and enhanced functionality for the smaller versions of Ethereum 2.0.

In a New Frontiers blog post, Alex Svanevik, Nansen CEO, and Nansen’s Research team members have recently dissected the collected data on stake centralization and validator behavior on Ethereum 2.0.

While it is anticipated that Altair would further enhance network dynamics, decentralization and security efforts are already moving in a good way.

The decentralized future of Ethereum 2.0

Nansen is a crypto platform that houses over 90 million Ethereum accounts and digital wallets. The tool also provides tracking and analytics for the blockchain. 

Decentralization means that members of a network do not know or trust one another. For example, everyone obtains a verbatim copy of data via a ledger. When this ledger is corrupted or altered in whatever way, the network will reject it.

How decentralized blockchains are can be measured through the Herfindahl–Hirschman Index (HHI). The HHI refers to a metric indicative of competition and market concentration. For its part, Nansen uses HHI for its Ethereum 2.0 tool. 

Even when Ethereum 2.0 stakeholders Binance and Kraken continue to be centralized, they are slowly yielding to decentralized staking options such as Canada-based Lido Finance and Rocket Pool.  

Though it is obviously not the case, the pattern does suggest a steady decline in HHI over time, although not all bank accounts exist independently of each other.

It is essential to remember that centralization issues exist at every tier of the cryptocurrency platform. People should keep it in mind at all times. Furthermore, Amazon Web Services continue to host 21 percent of Ethereum nodes.

Essential takes

  • An alternative social media platform to Twitter is being developed by Aave’s creator Stani Kulechov. 

CONTEXT: Ethereum’s top engineers Kulechov and Vitalik Buteri think that we can use blockchain technology to improve the quality of social discourses in the world today.

  • According to a study released on Monday, Singapore prefers ether the most out of all cryptocurrencies. 

CONTEXT: 67 percent of those surveyed had cryptocurrency in their portfolios, according to the poll conducted from June 29 to July 9. Moreover, two in three crypto holders boosted their digital asset portfolio within the pandemic period.

  • Aave Arc, Aave’s organizational arm, refuses to offer tether despite it being the most widely used stablecoin on the platform.

CONTEXT: Tether is still delisted on Aave Arc due to regulatory issues. 

  • Polygon has announced its merger with the Hermez Network as it attempts to boost its zero-knowledge (ZK) scalability.

CONTEXT: The Polygon digital environment will absorb Hermez under the new Polygon Hermez identity.