ABOUT ETEREUM
Ethereum (ETH) is a smart contract platform that enables developers to build decentralized applications (dapps) conceptualized by Vitalik Buterin in 2013. ETH is the native currency for the Ethereum platform and also works as the transaction fees to miners on the Ethereum network.
Ethereum is the pioneer for blockchain based smart contracts. When running on the blockchain a smart contract becomes like a self-operating computer program that automatically executes when specific conditions are met. On the blockchain, smart contracts allow for code to be run exactly as programmed without any possibility of downtime, censorship, fraud or third-party interference. It can facilitate the exchange of money, content, property, shares, or anything of value. The Ethereum network went live on July 30th, 2015 with 72 million Ethereum premined.
ETHEREUM ISTANBUL UPDATE COMPLETE,NOW WHAT?
The anticipated Ethereum Istanbul update finally became clear on December 8, 2019 in block 9069000
Update containing 6 Ethereum development protocols in total: EIP 152, EIP 1108, EIP 1344, EIP 1884, EIP 2028 and EIP 2200 etherscan.io according to data from, it has been successfully completed.
What has changed with Ethereum Istanbul update?
11 EIPS have been proposed for the Istanbul update and 6 have been accepted; EIP-152, EIP-1108, EIP-1344, EIP-1844, EIP-2028, EIP-2200.
With the improvements introduced by Istanbul, the system was made more secure against DDoS attacks.
With the update, infrastructure was created so that cryptocurrencies (such as Zcash) using the Equihash algorithm and the Ethereum blockchain could work together. Interoperability was one of the topics discussed at the DevCon of 2019. While it is not the first priority of Ethereum developers, some blockchains are known to want to work with Ethereum. There are developers all over the world producing collaboration solutions; Zcash is one of them. The main requirement is that Zcash's protected addresses (untraceable) can be used in Ethereum's smart contracts. Istanbul update will also form the basis for this issue.
Changes to the Opcode (operation code) have improved scalability performance for zk-SNARKS and zk-STARKS zero-knowledge privacy-oriented solutions. To summarize Zero-knowledge encryption, the service providers we use are not aware of the data we store on their servers. zk-SNARKS, in short, is a cryptographic technique aimed at providing privacy to blockchains. Among cryptocurrencies, Zcash is the broadest application of this technique. It is worth noting that Zcash's privacy solutions are optional.
zk-STARKS is a similar zero-knowledge encryption technique developed later. The vast majority of the changes involved solutions to the problem of scalability and work focused on privacy.
What should Ethereum (ETH) owners do?
According to the statements made in the leading exchanges, online wallets and hardware wallets such as Ledger, Trezor ETH holders have nothing to do. Your wallet provider needs to update its nodes. Nevertheless, we recommend that you read the descriptions of the stock market that you hold in ETH.
No new chain will be formed after the update, leaving the Ethereum blockchain on its way as before. Therefore, no new cryptocurrencies will be created.
