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An Event Study of the Ethereum Transition to Proof-of-Stake

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  • Elie Kapengut
  • Bruce Mizrach

Abstract

On September 15, 2022, the Ethereum network adopted a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. We study the impact on the network and competing platforms in a two month event window around the Beacon chain merge. We find that the transition to PoS has reduced energy consumption by 99.98%. Miners have not transformed into validators, and total block reward income (in USD) has fallen by 97%, though transaction fees (in ETH) for Ether have increased nearly 10%. The Herfindahl index for the top 10 is 1,009; the network is 19% less concentrated after the merge. Ethereum supply growth has been deflationary since the merge. The time between consecutive blocks is now steady at 12 seconds and transactions per day are up 7.0%. On Polygon, Matic fees rose but token fees fell. Polygon also slows, processing 3.3% fewer transactions per day. Solana's fees fall by $0.0003, and transactions per day are down 48%. Stablecoin transfer volumes fall on Ethereum and Polygon, but rise on Solana.

Suggested Citation

  • Elie Kapengut & Bruce Mizrach, 2022. "An Event Study of the Ethereum Transition to Proof-of-Stake," Papers 2210.13655, arXiv.org, revised Feb 2023.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2210.13655
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    Cited by:

    1. Alexander Karaivanov and Shayan Zarifian, 2024. "Economic Determinants of Ethereum Transaction Fees in the Priority Fee and Proof of Stake Periods," Discussion Papers dp24-02, Department of Economics, Simon Fraser University.
    2. Choi, Hyung-Eun, 2025. "Transition to proof-of-stake and informed trading," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    3. Tom Celig & Tim Alvaro Ockenga & Detlef Schoder, 2025. "Distributional equality in Ethereum? On-chain analysis of Ether supply distribution and supply dynamics," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-15, December.
    4. Huang, Chung-Ting & Scott, Ian J., 2024. "Peer-to-peer multi-period energy market with flexible scheduling on a scalable and cost-effective blockchain," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 367(C).
    5. Valerio Mandarino & Giuseppe Pappalardo & Emiliano Tramontana, 2023. "Proof of Flow: A Design Pattern for the Green Energy Market," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-23, September.
    6. Junnan Cui & Li Gao & Yufei Wang, 2024. "The Impact of Cryptocurrency Exposure on Corporate Tax Avoidance Among US Listed Companies," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-18, October.
    7. Naifar, Nader, 2025. "Redefining market interdependencies: The ethereum merge's effect on 4IR assets, renewable energy, and tokens," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    8. Bruce Mizrach & Nathaniel Yoshida, 2025. "The Marginal Effects of Ethereum Network MEV Transaction Re-Ordering," Papers 2508.04003, arXiv.org.
    9. repec:osf:osfxxx:6ceuz_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Tao Yan & Shengnan Li & Benjamin Kraner & Luyao Zhang & Claudio J. Tessone, 2024. "Analyzing Reward Dynamics and Decentralization in Ethereum 2.0: An Advanced Data Engineering Workflow and Comprehensive Datasets for Proof-of-Stake Incentives," Papers 2402.11170, arXiv.org.
    11. Luyao Zhang & Fan Zhang, 2023. "Understand Waiting Time in Transaction Fee Mechanism: An Interdisciplinary Perspective," Papers 2305.02552, arXiv.org.
    12. Namryoung Lee, 2023. "The Relationship between a Company’s Cryptocurrency Holdings and Its Sustainable Performance—With a Focus on External and Internal Financial Issues and Cash," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-15, November.
    13. Alan Chernoff & Julapa Jagtiani, 2024. "Beneath the Crypto Currents: The Hidden Effect of Crypto “Whales”," Working Papers 24-14, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    14. Konstantinos Pantelidis, 2025. "Active tokens and crypto-asset valuation," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 11(1), pages 1-37, December.
    15. Díaz, Antonio & Esparcia, Carlos & Huélamo, Diego, 2023. "Unveiling the diversification capabilities of carbon markets in NFT portfolios," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PD).
    16. Jain, Archana & Jain, Chinmay & Krystyniak, Karolina, 2023. "Blockchain transaction fee and Ethereum Merge," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PC).
    17. Jimmy Risk & Shen-Ning Tung & Tai-Ho Wang, 2025. "Dynamics of Liquidity Surfaces in Uniswap v3," Papers 2509.05013, arXiv.org.
    18. Tanus Bikram Malla & Abhinav Bhattarai & Amrit Parajuli & Ashish Shrestha & Bhupendra Bimal Chhetri & Kamal Chapagain, 2022. "Status, Challenges and Future Directions of Blockchain Technology in Power System: A State of Art Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-26, November.
    19. Yan, Tao & Li, Shengnan & Kraner, Benjamin & Zhang, Luyao & Tessone, Claudio J., 2024. "Analyzing Reward Dynamics and Decentralization in Ethereum 2.0: An Advanced Data Engineering Workflow and Comprehensive Datasets for Proof-of-Stake Incentives," OSF Preprints 6ceuz, Center for Open Science.
    20. Sid-Ali Amamra, 2025. "A Hybrid Blockchain Solution for Electric Vehicle Energy Trading: Balancing Proof of Work and Proof of Stake," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-26, April.
    21. Ioannis Nikolaou & Leonidas Anthopoulos, 2024. "Towards an ITU Standard for DLT Energy Consumption," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-14, May.
    22. Casey Watters, 2023. "Digital Gold or Digital Security? Unravelling the Legal Fabric of Decentralised Digital Assets," Commodities, MDPI, vol. 2(4), pages 1-12, October.
    23. Alam, Khandoker Shahjahan & Kaif, A.M.A. Daiyan & Das, Sajal K., 2024. "A blockchain-based optimal peer-to-peer energy trading framework for decentralized energy management with in a virtual power plant: Lab scale studies and large scale proposal," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 365(C).

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