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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.Meta34Google18OpenAI12Anthropic5Ahrefs2Parallel2Apple1Microsoft1Perplexity1First collected Sep 18, 2026Recent requestsMicrosoftNov 5, 2026AhrefsOct 30, 2026OpenAIOct 24, 2026Meta · unverifiedOct 12, 2026Meta · unverifiedOct 12, 2026Meta · unverifiedOct 12, 2026AhrefsOct 9, 2026Meta · unverifiedOct 9, 2026Meta · unverifiedOct 4, 2026Meta · unverifiedOct 3, 2026Meta · unverifiedOct 3, 2026Meta · unverifiedOct 3, 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 Nov 11, 2026 · Evidence page
  2. officialIntroduction to smart contracts — ethereum.org · accessed Nov 11, 2026 · Evidence page
  3. officialWhat is Ether (ETH)? — ethereum.org · accessed Nov 11, 2026 · Evidence page
  4. officialTimeline of all Ethereum forks (2014 to present) — ethereum.org · accessed Nov 11, 2026 · Evidence page
  5. officialEthereum Virtual Machine (EVM) — ethereum.org · accessed Nov 11, 2026 · Evidence page
  6. officialGas and fees — ethereum.org · accessed Nov 11, 2026 · Evidence page
  7. officialProof-of-stake (PoS) — ethereum.org · accessed Nov 10, 2026 · Evidence page
  8. officialPrague-Electra (Pectra) — ethereum.org · accessed Nov 11, 2026 · Evidence page
  9. officialThe Merge — ethereum.org · accessed Nov 10, 2026 · Evidence page
  10. newsEthereum Activates Fusaka Upgrade, Aiming to Cut Node Costs, Speed Layer-2 Settlements — CoinDesk · accessed Oct 29, 2026 · Evidence page
  11. officialLayer 2 — ethereum.org · accessed Nov 11, 2026 · Evidence page
  12. officialClient diversity — ethereum.org · accessed Nov 11, 2026 · Evidence page