Probably by now, you are already aware of the first five stages of the Ethereum upgrade — the Merge, the Surge, the Scourge, the Verge and the Purge. If you are reading this article without understanding the first five stages, we highly advise you to check out our previous articles first.

The sixth and final stage of the Ethereum upgrade is The Splurge. In this article, we will be discussing what this stage is, how it works, and when we can expect it to happen.

The Splurge explained

The Splurge is defined as a series of smaller upgrades aimed to ensure that the network runs smoothly following the previous five major updates and that the previous updates to the protocol don’t cause any issues. It will combine several improvement proposals that didn’t fit in the other upgrades and will add final touches to the vision for improving the blockchain.

Ethereum’s co-founder Buterin has described this last phase as “the enjoyable stuff once all of the preceding phases have merged”.

At the moment, not much of a detail was released by the Ethereum Foundation regarding the Splurge. All we know as of now is that it is the final stage of the Ethereum upgrade and certainly more information will be available once the first five stages are implemented.

It will still be many years (from 2023) before this final stage is a reality, and there are likely to be unforeseen challenges that pop up along the way. As with all matters, good things come to those who wait, and the finished Ethereum product will be well worth the years of hard work and patience.

How does it work?

Some of the updates included in The Splurge are things like account abstraction (AA) and proposer/builder separation (PBS).

Account Abstraction

The Ethereum network currently has two types of accounts — External Owned Accounts (EOAs), wallets that are used to send and receive cryptocurrency transactions, and Contract Accounts, smart contracts that exist in the EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine). AA for Ethereum aims to reduce these two account types to one, with the single account having the functionality to transact both tokens and contracts. Without getting into too much detail, there are a number of use cases that arise from this, including the ability to generate session keys (so as to authorize transactions for a set period of time), batch transactions (paying once at the end of a series of transactions), and protocol prioritization.

Proposer/Builder Separation (PBS)

Currently, users that propose a new block to the chain must also be the creators of those blocks in order to achieve the reward. PBS will allow for separation between the block builders and block validators, with each party operating more efficiently by focusing on a single task. The PBS process will also hopefully simplify the use of Ethereum and make it more accessible to users.

Initial Thoughts

As we know how long it took to execute the Merge, it’s quite likely that most of these technological advancements will prolong over time and undergo some amendments. By the time we get to the Splurge, the Ethereum network will be quite different from what we know today and will operate under new rules.

The main goal of Ethereum’s roadmap is to minimize trust assumptions and provide in-protocol scalability through implementing native solutions. The base layer of Ethereum is host to an entire ecosystem of decentralized applications promising a fundamental shift in the way we think about identity, storage, search, reputation, and privacy in the digital age. Upgrading Ethereum as a base layer also elevates this application layer, benefitting users and developers by providing a highly-secure, robust infrastructure to scale these use cases globally.

Ethereum’s vision is a digital future on a global scale; its adherence to the principles of credible neutrality as well as Ethereum’s network effects, decentralization, and security firmly cement its role in the future in the decentralized web. The Merge is the first step in stewarding Ethereum towards this vision.