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What was the Ethereum Merge?

Published Sep 18, 2026Updated Sep 19, 2026Last verified Sep 18, 2026Requests recorded in this site’s own server logs, with the crawler identity checked by reverse DNS or IP range.Google9OpenAI1First collected Sep 18, 2026Recent requestsGoogleSep 20, 2026GoogleSep 20, 2026GoogleSep 20, 2026GoogleSep 20, 2026GoogleSep 20, 2026OpenAISep 20, 2026GoogleSep 19, 2026GoogleSep 19, 2026GoogleSep 19, 2026GoogleSep 18, 2026
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Quick answer

The Merge was the September 15, 2022 upgrade in which Ethereum's original proof-of-work mainnet joined the Beacon Chain, a proof-of-stake chain that had been running since December 1, 2020. After it, validators staking ETH produced blocks instead of miners. Ethereum.org says energy use fell by about 99.95%. The Merge did not lower gas fees or require any action from ETH holders.

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Answer

Staking withdrawals were not available at the Merge. They were enabled later by the Shanghai-Capella upgrade on April 12, 2023 [9][4].

Sources

  1. officialWhat is Ethereum? (A Complete Guide) — ethereum.org · accessed Sep 19, 2026 · Evidence page
  2. officialIntroduction to smart contracts — ethereum.org · accessed Sep 19, 2026 · Evidence page
  3. officialWhat is Ether (ETH)? — ethereum.org · accessed Sep 19, 2026 · Evidence page
  4. officialTimeline of all Ethereum forks (2014 to present) — ethereum.org · accessed Sep 19, 2026 · Evidence page
  5. officialEthereum Virtual Machine (EVM) — ethereum.org · accessed Sep 19, 2026 · Evidence page
  6. officialGas and fees — ethereum.org · accessed Sep 19, 2026 · Evidence page
  7. officialProof-of-stake (PoS) — ethereum.org · accessed Sep 19, 2026 · Evidence page
  8. officialPrague-Electra (Pectra) — ethereum.org · accessed Sep 19, 2026 · Evidence page
  9. officialThe Merge — ethereum.org · accessed Sep 19, 2026 · Evidence page
  10. newsEthereum Activates Fusaka Upgrade, Aiming to Cut Node Costs, Speed Layer-2 Settlements — CoinDesk · accessed Sep 19, 2026 · Evidence page
  11. officialLayer 2 — ethereum.org · accessed Sep 19, 2026 · Evidence page
  12. officialClient diversity — ethereum.org · accessed Sep 19, 2026 · Evidence page