The Ethereum Merge is very close. The current estimated date and time place it in the early morning of Thursday September 15th (European time). On Google, if you search for Ethereum Merge, you'll get a countdown timer.

Excitement is building for Ethereum's Merge: its technically challenging move from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake. The design shift replaces Ethereum's entire "engine": the consensus mechanism. That's why it's arguably the biggest event in crypto since the launch of... Bitcoin Ethereum Cardano Dogecoin Crypto Punks, Shiba Inu.

But seriously, it's big enough an event to have Google customize a timer and a doodle. Seven years and hundreds of thousands of hours of development apparently earn you the respect of the world's tech giant.

When exactly?

The current estimate of the Merge is coming Thursday at 6 AM Central European Time. Pencil it in your agenda - but don't use a pen! Why? Because Ethereum works on its own terms and will not use something like an ordinary clock to set the event.

Instead, The Merge is programmed to happen at the instant the cumulative difficulty of all mined Ethereum blocks will reach a certain number. This so-called Total Terminal Difficulty (TTD) can be reached a bit earlier or later, depending on Ethereum miners working harder or slower the coming days. This means that the Ethereum Merge time might still move around a few hours from the current estimate.

In the Google timer, you'll see the current Total difficulty and the Target difficulty. Google combines this with the current hashrate to estimate how soon that finish line will be crossed.

Some important recent Merge news and background

As mentioned, The Merge is a truly big event that has both immediate and long-term consequences for fundamentals and price. We list a few news and background articles:

• Bellatrix was a success: the final upgrade that Ethereum's Beacon Chain went through before it merges with the main net.
• How the market anticipates the Merge: foreshocks of the market, such as lower prices of staked Ether and... graphic cards.
• The consequences of a possible fork post-Merge: There is a possibility that Ethereum miners will continue the old Ethereum blockchain. If so, what are the implications of two chains running in parallel? Related: How is Ethereum Classic doing? Ethereum Classic could also become a new home for miners.
• Is the Merge priced in? Three traders express their opinion on how the Ether price will behave after the Merge. Spoiler alert: they are bullish. But be aware that price may drop immediately after the event.
• The Ethereum roadmap for the coming years: The steps that follow the Merge are less fundamental but no less important; for they have to do with scalability. They ensure that Ethereum can process many more transactions.
• A vision of Ethereum as a new type of financial instrument: Could Ethereum become the 'internet bond' now that it will start generating yield?