Ethereum ETH/USD has now officially transitioned to a proof-of-stake network.

What Happened: The Ethereum blockchain successfully completed the Merge to PoS on Thursday at 2:50 a.m. EDT.

And we finalized! Happy merge all. This is a big moment for the Ethereum ecosystem. Everyone who helped make the merge happen should feel very proud today.

The #EthereumMerge is here. Pandas are here! Finally after so many years PoS is here. I am not crying ... you are... pic.twitter.com/kzu7icFvDA

The first Proof of Stake block on Ethereum. #ethereummerge #Ethereum pic.twitter.com/YG5B43AuaP

The highly anticipated event marks the biggest shift in the blockchain industry and the end of mining Ethereum. 

See Also: WHY IS THE ETHEREUM MERGE IMPORTANT?

The Merge took place at a block height of 15537393 when the required level of Total Terminal Difficulty was reached. 

The transition to Proof-of-Stake means the network will be significantly more energy efficient than it was during its proof-of-work era. The Ethereum Foundation estimates that the shift will bring about a 99.95% reduction in its energy consumption.

"The merge will reduce worldwide electricity consumption by 0.2%" - @drakefjustin

Price Action: At press time, ETH was trading at $1,607, down 0.67% over the last 24 hours, as per data from Benzinga Pro.

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