[olouv]

This is not exact. The merge is definitely being prioritized and the current target is Q4’21 / Q1’22. Developers have chosen to perform an early merge by using the ETH2 consensus layer to validate ETH1 blocks, it’s a pretty straightforward process were both ETH1 and ETH2 clients co-exists with minimal changes. There is already a running testnet. More info https://blog.ethereum.org/2021/01/20/the-state-of-eth2-janua...

[jkilpatr]

This is new since the last time I took a deep dive into things.

This does seem more straightforward, at the cost of essentially all of ETH2's advertised scalability and other features.

It still does not eliminate the challenge of actually performing such a delicate transition on a live economy. Which will be significant on a social front in addition to technical.

Not saying I don't believe these things can be done, or don't believe that they are good idea.