Ethereum

Beam

Beacon

Drake

As Ethereum’s Beacon Chain reached its fourth anniversary, researcher Justin Drake reflected on its achievements and its role as the foundation of the blockchain network.
The Beacon Chain was launched on Dec. 1, 2020, as part of the network’s <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/learn/articles/ethereum-upgrades-a-beginners-guide-to-eth-2-0" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">transition to Ethereum 2.0</a>. The introduction of the Beacon Chain marked the blockchain’s shift toward a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus, allowing users to stake their Ether (<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/ethereum-price" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">ETH</a>) for rewards.&nbsp;
<figure>
 <img alt="Ethereum Beacon Chain ‘far from perfect’ but brings massive opportunity" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-12/01938735-f653-7342-ac0d-84d70bfaab27" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Source: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/drakefjustin/status/1863213377297731802" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="https://x.com/drakefjustin/status/1863213377297731802">Justin Drake</a>
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Drake noted that the Beacon Chain began modestly, with only 0.5 ETH staked on its first day. Still, he described its evolution into “the strongest foundation blockchains have ever seen.”
<h2 id="ethereum-researcher-celebrates-beacon-chain-s-fourth-year">Ethereum researcher celebrates Beacon Chain’s fourth year</h2>
The researcher highlighted key milestones achieved by the network, including having 10,000 consensus participants, $125 billion in economic security, finality through layer-1 slashing, 51% attack recovery via layer-0 slashing and 100% uptime. Drake wrote:&nbsp;
<blockquote>
 “No other PoW or PoS chain comes close—the gap is immense. This is the power of long-term thinking, of taking the long and hard road.”
</blockquote>
Drake added that there is a “tremendous opportunity” to cement Ethereum as the settlement layer for the internet of value. Despite these achievements, Drake acknowledged that the Beacon Chain is “far from perfect.”&nbsp;
He emphasized the need for improvements, including better censorship resistance, enhanced MEV handling, smaller staking deposits, improved delegation, faster finality, smarter token issuance and post-quantum security.&nbsp;
He urged community members to get involved, saying that the future is bright. “I invite you to get involved. Ethereum may just be humanity’s most ambitious and exciting decentralized computing project,” Drake wrote.&nbsp;
Related: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-proposal-rumors-devcon-justin-drake" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">ETH 3.0: Sharding may return to scale Ethereum to millions of TPS</a>
<h2 id="justin-drake-proposes-beam-chain">Justin Drake proposes “Beam Chain”</h2>
At the Devcon event in Bangkok, Thailand, Drake introduced a new concept: the “Beam Chain,” a <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-beam-chain-consensus-redesign" rel="" target="_self" text="null" title="https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-beam-chain-consensus-redesign">proposed replacement for the Beacon Chain</a>.
In his keynote address, Drake described the Beam Chain as a step toward Ethereum’s “final design.” He explained that while the Beacon Chain laid the groundwork, it has become “kind of old,” and new developments have emerged since its deployment.
Drake believes transitioning to the Beam Chain would help Ethereum evolve further, aligning with the community’s long-term goals for the blockchain network.<iframe width="100%" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Kt3q6MNRLiQ" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Magazine: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/based-rollups-make-ethereum-feel-ethereum-again/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Make Ethereum feel like Ethereum again: Based rollups explained</a>

Ethereum Beacon Chain ‘far from perfect’ but brings massive opportunity

Table of Contents

Cointelegraph

Other articles published on Dec 2, 2024

USDT Demand Soars, Echoing 2021 Trends as Bitcoin Gains 50% in November

Michael Saylor: A Risky Bet on Bitcoin?

Why Has The Bitcoin Price Never Surpassed $100,000? Here’s an Analyst’s View

Trump’s Team Discusses Potential White House Crypto Role Amid Growing Industry Influence

Crypto Regulations Redraw the Map: Coinbase’s Response to MiCA

FXGuys ($FXG) Tease Higher Price Movements Than Polkadot and the Sandbox; Is $FXG the Best Coin T...

Join our free newsletter for daily crypto updates!