Ethereum Faces ‘Blockchain Trilemma’ When ‘Merge’ Mania Cools

tech.hindustantimes.com:

After much celebration over the successful transition of Ethereum, the question remains what's next for the most commercially-significant crypto project. The long-awaited software revision, termed the Merge, shifted the blockchain from a so-called proof-of-work system to a more energy efficient proof-of-stake method for securing the network. There was no changes related to network transaction costs or speed, which are common gripes among Ethereum users.

Completing the upgrade without any software downtime is a brilliant engineering feat, said Harsh Rajat, the Mumbai-based co-founder of Ethereum Push Notification Service or EPNS. “Akin to changing the foundation of a skyscraper while it still remains standing!”

Now developers will address a key existential question. The Merge was the first step toward a series of upgrades on Ethereum to solve the scalability trilemma. After some point, the theory suggests that a blockchain has to compromise on one of its three key aspects -- scalability, decentralization and security. And that a blockchain cannot have all three at the same time.

For Ethereum the first step to solve this problem was moving to POS with the merge and next comes four more phases of development. 

“The ultimate aim for all these upgrades is to make Ethereum more scalable, faster and cheaper to use,” said Aditya Khanduri, head of marketing at Biconomy, a protocol that helps improve user onboarding and transaction experience on decentralized applications.

“It's hard to talk about the timelines of the following four stages because all of them are still under active research and development. But, in my opinion, it will easily take 2-3 years before all phases are complete,” said Sameep Singhania, co-creator of QuickSwap,