Ethereum ‘London hard fork’ set to arrive on Thursday, ushering in EIP-1559

Ethereum’s London upgrade is set to activate on Thursday, according to the countdown available on Ethereum.org. “The London upgrade is scheduled to go live on Ethereum in August 2021, on block 12,965,000,” Ethereum.org reads. “It will introduce EIP-1559, which reforms the transaction fee market, along with changes to how gas refunds are handled and the Ice Age schedule.”

Ethereum Improvement Proposal 1559, or EIP-1559, will directly affect how the network handles transaction fees. Going forward, each transaction will burn a base fee, thereby decreasing the asset’s circulating supply and giving users the option of including a tip to help incentivize speedier confirmations proportionate to network demand. The London fork will also introduce other EIPs, such as EIP-3541, according to a blog post from the Ethereum Foundation in mid-July.

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