Don't fall for scams: the truth about Ethereum 2.0

Ethereum's much-anticipated upgrade has been hyped for a few years now, as developers on the Ethereum network work to improve the system's scalability, efficiency and security. Part of this process involves changing Ethereum (ETH) from a proof-of-work consensus model to a proof-of-stake one. Until recently, these improvements to the Ethereum blockchain were collectively referred to as Ethereum 2.0, and an Eth2 token was expected to come with it. 

However, in early 2022, this changed, and crypto buyers should beware of any offers claiming to be for Ethereum 2.0. They could be scams.

According to the Ethereum Foundation, the non-profit organisation that guides the development of the Ethereum blockchain, there will be no forthcoming Eth 2.0. In fact, the 'Ethereum 2.0' name and brand, as well as the term 'Eth2', will no longer be used.

Eth2 scams

The reason for the rebranding is the existence of several scams that purport to offer Eth2 but instead contain only junk or malicious attempts to steal money (crypto or otherwise) from marks who have heard of Ethereum 2.0 but have not followed the industry carefully. Such scams will leverage the average person's FOMO to try to get them to invest in fake, unrelated tokens. One common scheme involves asking users to swap their ETH for Eth2 or migrate their Ethereum tokens to a new address.

In the ever-crowded crypto market, similarly named crypto (as often happens with forks or wrapped crypto) can confuse traders. The Ethereum foundation wants to avoid any such confusion, so it abandoned the Ethereum 2.0 brand.

Instead, Eth1 (which handles transactions and data) will be known as the 'execution layer', whereas Eth2, which runs the proof-of-stake consensus model, will be referred to as the 'consensus layer'. A blog on the Ethereum foundation website emphasises that "[t]hese terminology updates only change naming conventions; this does not alter Ethereum's goals or roadmap'. It also stresses that current ETH holders do not need to do anything to benefit from the eventual upgrade of the Ethereum network, so beware of anyone telling you otherwise!

Keeping it ETH

As for the Ethereum cryptocurrency, the foundation has confirmed that there will be no new token for the system formerly known as Ethereum 2.0. To enjoy the advantages of updates to Ethereum, traders and investors simply need to accumulate Ethereum (ETH) as it exists now and wait for the upgrade.

StormGain remains the best place to buy, trade and hold ETH, along with over 65 other digital assets. Invest in ETH before the upgrade, dive into the NFT marketplace or trade against Bitcoin (BTC), Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA) and other cryptocurrencies with very low fees and commissions. It only takes a few seconds to register with StormGain and try a demo account to see how much money you could be making on the crypto market!