Gnosis Chain Follows Ethereum’s Lead, Prepping for Its Own “The Merge” to Proof-of-Stake

Gnosis Chain is set to implement its own version of “The Merge,” transitioning from a Proof-of-Authority (PoA) consensus mechanism to Proof-of-Stake (PoS).

Gnosis Chain, formerly known as xDai Chain, is one of the early sidechains of Ethereum and operates within the Gnosis (GNO) ecosystem—a platform for prediction markets.

The merge is scheduled for December 8, marking the second major "The Merge" event in crypto history. The first was Ethereum's upgrade in September 2022, which transitioned from the old Proof-of-Work (PoW) model to PoS. However, Gnosis Chain's transition will be slightly different as it moves from PoA to PoS.

Proof-of-Authority (PoA) is a consensus mechanism with similarities to Proof-of-Stake (PoS), but instead of staking assets to become a validator, participants must meet certain requirements set by the project to be deemed trustworthy and maintain a high operational status. Trustworthiness is the key criterion in PoA.

Since PoA relies on the reputational trust of validators, these validators undergo a rigorous vetting process to ensure that malicious actors are excluded. This mechanism upholds the integrity of the system by verifying that participating validators are reliable and adhere to the same rules.

Like PoS, PoA is more energy-efficient than PoW as it requires fewer computational resources. However, PoA is much more centralized compared to PoS because only a select number of approved validators are permitted to join the network, chosen by the project's authoritative group.

After Gnosis Chain completes its merge, the number of validators on the blockchain will increase from fewer than 20 to over 100,000, making it the second largest chain by validator count after Ethereum.

Overall, Ethereum’s successful transition to PoS has significantly inspired similar efforts across various platforms, aiming to enhance efficiency and achieve the primary goal of energy conservation.

Not only Gnosis Chain, but the community is also eagerly anticipating the next “The Merge” for Dogecoin (DOGE). Ethereum’s founder, Vitalik Buterin, is a key advisor to the Dogecoin Foundation, alongside Elon Musk’s representative and Neuralink CEO Jared Birchall. Buterin has expressed hopes that Dogecoin will be the next cryptocurrency to transition to PoS and has committed to supporting the project in achieving this goal.