• Ethereum’s London upgrade has finally launched on the Ropsten testnet and in the one day since its launch, over 88,000 Ether worth $174 million has been burned.
• The upgrade will launch soon on Rinkeby, Goerli and Kovan testnets and brings with it important updates, the most critical being EIP-1559.

Ethereum’s long-awaited London upgrade has finally launched on the first testnet. The upgrade contains several important updates to Ethereum, none more so than Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 1559. This EIP introduces fee burning, making Ethereum a deflationary currency. In the one day since it launched on the Ropsten testnet, the upgrade has seen over 88,400 Ether burned, worth over $174 million at current prices.

The Ethereum community is set to have its most critical year yet, with the blockchain project bracing for the migration to Ethereum 2.0. This migration is gradual, and the London upgrade is one of the critical milestones. As we reported earlier this week, this upgrade could very well change the future of Ethereum.

Read More: The London upgrade is scheduled for this week, and it could change the future of Ethereum

The London upgrade has finally launched on the first testnet, Ropsten. It will then launch on the other testnets, namely Rinkeby, Goerli and Kovan at weekly intervals. After the testnets, the Ethereum developers will be looking to deploy the upgrade on the mainnet.

Ethereum developers have called on the community to contribute to the upgrade by testing “the hell out of 1559 on Ropsten.” This is the only way they will be able to ascertain that all is well before eventually deploying on the mainnet.

EIP-1559 kicks in, $174M burned in one day

The London upgrade comes with a number of EIPs, each seeking to better Ethereum in one way or the other. EIP-1559 is arguably the most critical, and the one that has caused the most distress and infighting in the community. This EIP changes the fee structure in Ethereum, potentially kicking miners out and giving the fees back to the Ethereum holders. Part of the fees will be burned in a bid to reduce the circulating supply and consequently drive up the value of the circulating coins.

Earlier this year, the Ethereum miners staged a revolt against the EIP, which threatens their livelihoods. At one point, they even threatened to stage a “show of force” but later backed down.

In the one day since the London upgrade launched, 88,483 Ether have been burned, worth $174 million. This is according to Watch The Burn, an EIP-1559 tracking website. This is a landmark moment for Ethereum as it means that the supply of Ether will be reducing on a daily basis. If the amount of ETH burned exceeds the ETH produced as block rewards, then Ethereum would become a deflationary currency.

However, it’s not just the EIP-1559 that will prove critical for the future of Ethereum. As one blockchain engineer noted, EIP-3074 will fix ERC20 approvals, “one of the most overlooked security issues on Ethereum.” David Mihal revealed that EIP-3074 will “allow a user to approve a transfer, execute an action, then revoke the approval all in 1 transaction.”

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