Ethereum’s merger may improve the public perception of cryptocurrencies. 

Laura Shin, a cryptocurrency podcaster, said on CoinDesk TV’s “First Mover” that the software update might make people less worried about how the industry affects the environment.

According to author and journalist Laura Shin, the Merge, a software update to the Ethereum blockchain, may alter how the public views the network and cryptocurrencies in general. 

The host of the “Unchained” podcast and the author of the history of Ethereum book “The Cryptopians,” Shin, said on Wednesday’s “First Mover” episode of CoinDesk TV, “There’s a lot riding on this.” 

The Merge, which is expected to happen around September 15, is expected to cut Ethereum’s energy use by a lot and, according to supporters, raise the value of ether (ETH), the security of the network, and public trust in cryptocurrencies. 

According to some estimations, switching Ethereum from a proof-of-work to a proof-of-stake method might cut the network’s energy consumption by as much as 99.95%. That might alter how crypto is perceived. Shin still believes that maintaining proof-of-work blockchains is expensive in terms of the environment, and he adds that if developers could change people’s minds, “that would be significant.” 

But there can be a cost associated with the shift. Some users are worried that the merge “would lead to centralization factors” before it happens, according to Shin. The operators of liquid staking pools like Lido and Coinbase (COIN) might play a bigger role in the management of Ethereum. 

Users are concerned that Lido and other platforms might capture “80% of all the staked ether,” according to Shin, which would cause “serious concerns” about on-chain governance. 
With the LDO coin, Lido has its own on-chain governance system. On-chain governance does not exist for Ethereum, according to Shin. 

There is a danger that Ethereum might centralize in this fashion, especially in terms of its governance, she added. 
Shin added that she doesn’t see other networks “taking off” unless there is a “dramatic failure” with the Merge. If the merger is successful, it may also decrease interest in Ethereum’s rivals, or so-called “Ethereum killers,” she said. A few years ago, people who helped make Ethereum set up competing blockchains, such as Cardano and Polkadot. 
According to Shin, “a lot of the network effects on the blockchain really depend on how people perceive the individuals involved.” “That’s only going to get stronger if the Ethereum Merge works out.”