Hold on tight! The upgrade is coming! Great! But, what is it?   To start off, the upcoming upgrade is still upcoming. The initial launch date has come and gone and things have been pushed back and back. Though delayed, rest assured. The upgrade will still happen. The current timeline is set for August. Fingers crossed.  

Second, the upgrade will be Ethereum's biggest upgrade to date. Let's be clear, ETH2 is no small tweak. ETH2 will alter the nature of Ethereum itself. The impact of the upgrade should ripple out to other currencies/projects as well.  

So, what is the upgrade? Co-founder Vitalik Buterin has stated that Ethereum will move from a proof of work system to a proof of stake system. As in the name, when you think of proof of work, think work. The system runs on a decentralized network of miners who work by connecting their computing power towards solving a complex mathematical problem. The worker/miner is awarded with new coins. The most significant downside to a proof of work system is the required amount of energy and processing power.  

ETH2 will forgo this model for the more efficient, and supposedly more secure, proof of stake system. Again, as with the name, think of staking with this system. Rather than miners, this system utilizes validators. A validator is just someone who holds the system's currency and stakes the currency so that the system can run. By pooling ETH, ETH2 can be more energy efficient, faster, and cost effective.   Obviously, such a seismic shift is not simple, hence the delays. The change of system will come about through a merger. Ethereum will essentially combine with Beacon Chain, which is already a proof of stake system. By merging, Ethereum will cross over to the proof of stake model.  

The change will probably not be smooth. Already, there have been significant delays. However, that is just the beginning. The system change will most likely slow down everything and disrupt the order of things. However, through the rough patch, ETH2 will emerge as a faster, more efficient, and more competitive blockchain technology that will benefit users and investors alike.