[Photo Source](https://blockzeit.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Screen-Shot-2022-05-27-at-3.49.18-PM.png)
It is crystal clear by now that the much hyped 'Merge' and all the misconceptions surrounding it did nothing to mitigate the high gas fees associated with routine Ethereum transactions. Nor did the 'Merge' provide relief from the notoriously slow Ethereum transaction times. So what, if anything, did the 'Merge' do to improve the Ethereum ecosystem?
Well ... it goes without saying that the 'Merge' transformed Ethereum from a Proof of Work consensus structure to Proof of Stake. The immediate benefit derived from this transformation is greater energy efficiency as the creation of blocks requires significantly less energy usage. "By some estimates, Ethereum’s shift to proof of stake will reduce its energy consumption by more than 99 percent" [Yaffe-Bellany, D. [Crypto’s Long-Awaited ‘Merge’ Reaches the Finish Line](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/15/technology/ethereum-merge-crypto.html). (Accessed October 3, 2022)]. And in turn, "it will reduce its carbon footprint at a time of rising global temperatures, in the process helping to improve crypto’s reputation in the eyes of the general public" [Chandler, S. [Crypto Goes Green? Ethereum’s Merge Reduces Energy Use By a Stunning 99%](https://www.cryptovantage.com/news/crypto-goes-green-ethereum-s-merge-will-reduce-energy-use-by-99-percent/). (Accessed October 3, 2022).
Parenthetically, an interesting tidbit of information came to light in the research for this article. Were you aware that post-'Merge', Ethereum is now more energy efficient than both Paypal and Netflix?
[Photo Source](https://www.cryptovantage.com/app/uploads/2022/09/Ethereum-Merge-energy-consumption..webp)
In addition, there are two other important benefits brought to Ethereum as a result of the 'Merge'.
Firstly, Ethereum has experienced a steep increase in daily block creation.
[Photo Source](https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2022-10/fc940160-5e01-4c93-881e-903fb09f8863.png)
"On Sept. 15, Ethereum completed the Merge upgrade after successfully transitioning the network to PoS. On the same day, the number of blocks created daily shot up by roughly 18% — from approximately 6,000 blocks to 7,100 blocks per day" [Sarkar, A. [Ethereum Merge spikes block creation with a faster average block time](https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-merge-spikes-block-creation-with-a-faster-average-block-time). (Accessed October 3, 2022)].
Secondly, within the same timeframe, there was a substantial decrease in average block time.
[Photo Source](https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2022-10/b6f30856-4a08-4a92-a5e1-0e4fef3bca9a.png)
With the 'Merge' complete, "the average block time — the time it takes the miners or validators within a network to verify transactions — for Ethereum dropped over 13%, as evidenced by data from YCharts" [Id].
And as one could expect, the shift away from the hardware dependent Proof of Work standard caused a significant drop in GPU prices. In China, "the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080’s price dropped from 8,000 yuan, or $1,118, to 5,000 yuan within three months, according to a Chinese merchant. The merchant further stated that no one in China is buying new computers, let alone new GPUs" [Id].
So given that the 'Merge' failed to address the problems of high gas fees and slow transaction times, when will Ethereum get around to addressing this? Well ... we kind of have to wait some more.
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[Photo Source](https://twitter.com/milesdeutscher/status/1550315295402668032)
> The "Surge" refers to Ethereum introducing systems that will make the network more expandable (scalable) by enabling the creation of layer 2, or companion, products, including sharding and rollups, and therefore making it easier for users to operate on the Ethereum network. During this phase, the introduction of sharding is expected on Ethereum. Sharding would split Ethereum's entire network into smaller pieces, known as “shards,” which is intended to increase the network’s scalability. It does this by breaking up data within the same blockchain, in essence creating multiple mini-blockchains. This becomes a lot easier to do once the protocol moves to proof-of-stake. Ethereum then will aim to create a physically sharded system of 64 linked databases.
[Nijkerk, M. [Ethereum After the Merge: What Comes Next?](https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2022/08/01/ethereum-after-the-merge-what-comes-next/). (Accessed October 3, 2022)].
Prior to the 'Merge' the Ethereum Foundation attempted to clarify this:
> [...] the 'Merge,' — will not reduce gas fees. Regarding this, the Ethereum Foundation wrote: 'Gas fees are a product of network demand relative to the network's capacity. The Merge deprecates the use of proof-of-work, transitioning to proof-of-stake for consensus, but does not significantly change any parameters that directly influence network capacity or throughput.'
[Sun, Z. [Ethereum Foundation clarifies that the upcoming Merge upgrade will not reduce gas fees](https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-foundation-clarifies-that-the-upcoming-merge-upgrade-will-not-reduce-gas-fees). (Accessed October 3, 2022)].
As such, it is the Surge that "will introduce side-chains and sharding to Ethereum and is scheduled for 2023; it will also reduce transaction times and costs" [Blocknative. [The Roadmap for ETH Gas Fees After The Merge](https://www.blocknative.com/blog/will-the-merge-lower-gas-fees#:~:text=Prioritizing%20Gas%20in%20Ethereum's%20Future%20Roadmap&text=The%20Surge%3A%20This%20will%20introduce,reduce%20transaction%20times%20and%20costs.). (Accessed October 3, 2022).
Guess it is time to remember that 'patience is a virtue'.
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