Second technical problem in 24 hours for ETH
The cryptocurrency world has been in turmoil for several days due to a technical problem on the Ethereum network. For the second time in 24 hours, the network suffered a finality outage, preventing block validation for more than an hour. This issue is of great concern to Ethereum blockchain users as it endangers the integrity of the network.
“Finality” is the process that ensures that a block of transactions cannot be altered or removed from the blockchain without burning at least 33% of the staked ETH. Loss of finality means that the transactions that have been processed but not yet finalized can potentially be ignored or rejected.
More concretely, the number of certificates received on epoch ethereum (unit of measurement on a PoS blockchain) 200.750 to 200.758 has dropped drastically, according to Beaconcha.in
An unknown cause
The exact causes of these failures are not yet known. Ethereum blockchain developers, including Preston Van Loon, Core Developer ETH and co-founder of Prysmatic Labs, tried to reassure the community that it was a bug that was quickly fixed. However, that hasn’t stopped some observers from worrying about the potentially damaging impact of these outages on the reputation of the Ethereum blockchain.
The disruptions to the Ethereum network came as cryptocurrencies are increasingly used around the world. Companies are increasingly adopting them, governments are studying them more and more seriously, and individuals are increasingly interested in them as an alternative means of payment or an asset class in their own right to invest in. Consequently, technical issues like the one encountered by Ethereum can have a significant impact on user trust towards the entire crypto ecosystem.
A reassuring community
That being said, experts believe that technical issues are inevitable in the cryptocurrency world. Blockchains are complex systems which require constant updating to maintain their security and stability. Developers are constantly working to improve the performance and security of blockchains, but it is difficult to predict all the errors that may occur.
Ultimately, Ethereum’s finality issues are concerning, but it’s important to put them into context. Although these problems may sow doubt in the minds of users, they shouldn’t question the whole concept of crypto. They should be seen as challenges for developers and the crypto community as a whole to overcome, in order to continue to improve and strengthen the security and reliability of blockchains.
