Ethereum London Hardfork Scheduled for August Release, ETH Can Replace BTC As Store-of-Value

The much-awaited Ethereum blockchain London hardfork upgrade will be released in the next month of August as per the recent confirmation from lead developer Tim Beiko. The London hardfork will tentatively go live on August 4 with block 12,965,000.

Replying to a tweet, the developer noted: “Unless someone objects in the next 24h, London should land on August 4th. A few client teams have "approved" it already, but we want to be sure no one has a serious objection. Keep an eye out”.

Over the last few weeks, the developers have successfully implement the London hardfork on the Ropsten and Goerli testnets. The protocol update basically includes the implementation of five different Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs).

The much-awaited is the EIP-1559 implementation which is likely to solve the issue of high gas fee for the Ethereum blockchain network. EIP-1559 will bring a new fee structure that will make the Ethereum network deflationary.

The protocol implements a “base-fee” structure while burning part of the gas fee. The EIP-1559 implementation has been objected by Ethereum miners since it considerably reduces the miner revenue.

While the Ethereum blockchain continues to progress further, institutional players are getting more confident of its future prospects. Speaking to Business Insider, a Goldman Sachs analyst recently noted that Ethereum will easily replace Bitcoin as a future store of value.

The analyst added that Ethereum’s vast ecosystem and its several practical use-case options suggests that it has more potential than Bitcoin. But Goldman also believes that neither of these two cryptocurrencies will be able to overtake Gold which is still the leader among all the defensive assets.

The banking giant noted: “Gold competes with cryptocurrency in the same way it competes with other risky assets like stocks and cyclical goods. We view gold as a defense against inflation, and cryptocurrency as a defense against inflationary risks”.

Moreover it adds that cryptos compete among themselves which makes them naturally weak against overtaking gold.

On the other hand, Bank of Singapore differs from the Views of Goldman Sachs. It notes that “volatility, low confidence, and lack of regulation” are major obstacles for cryptocurrencies to emerge as store of value. But instead, it thinks that if these issues are resolved, cryptocurrencies could likely replace gold.