Introduction

The days after the merge saw a dip in the price of Ether which left stakeholders wondering if the merge was actually good. The merge was an event that transitioned Ethereum from a proof-of-work consensus mechanism to proof-of-stake (PoS). In this article, we’ll be looking at the following metrics to draw a conclusion on how the merge has impacted the network:

• Centralization
• Staking Rewards
• Block Intervals
• ETH Net Issuance
• Gas Prices

Centralization

Two of the largest validators are validating over 41% of new blocks. Not so good for decentralization.

Staking Rewards

According to @ratedw3b, the expected APR for PoS validators was 7-8% but it’s currently 5-6% for the big players. However, total validator rewards have increased 170% due to execution layer + MEV fees.

Block Intervals

PoS block times are more predictable and consistent.

ETH Net Issuance

According to @JUkwaththa, the annualized ETH issuance rate has fallen about 95% since the merge.

Gas Prices

Other users are concerned about the impact of the merge on gas prices. There seems to be no significant difference.

Conclusion

The data above suggests that except for decentralization, the merge has had a positive impact on the network’s performance, ETH issuance, and staking rewards with no significant downsides. I consider the merge as actually good for Ethereum.

Reference: @metricsdao