Ethereum’s beacon chain went live as scheduled on Dec. 1, marking the first step for the network in its bid to move to the proof-of-stake based Ethereum 2.0.

• The beacon chain will run parallel to the current Ethereum 1.0 chain, and sets the foundation for sharding and zkRollups implementation 
• The current utility of the chain is very limited, essentially functioning as a storing and managing mechanism for a registry of validators -- native transaction processing will arrive in phase 2 of the transition
• The deposit contract went live on Nov .4, reaching its threshold value on Nov. 23
• Vitalik Buterin also contributed to the contract, adding 3200 ETH
• The upgrades for ETH 2.0 will all arrive in a phased manner by 2022; Buterin detailed the short and medium term development roadmap, with light client support to be the first to arrive