Serenity Phase 0

The five-minute read

One action, walked through

1. Open EIP 2982 and read the status line before the examples.
2. Write down the rule in one sentence. A fair version of that sentence is: Phase 0 of Serenity (eth2), a multi-phased upgrade to the consensus mechanism for Ethereum mainnet.
3. Name the object that changes: FFG, LMD, GHOST.
4. Ask what an old client, an old contract, or an offline counterparty does. If the document is silent, the silence is part of the design.

The argument, unpacked

What has to be true

• You are implementing EIP 2982 at the status the text itself states: Final.
• The object that has to change is FFG, LMD, GHOST. A neighbouring document with a similar name is not this one.
• Parameter choices in one release are not the proof.

What happened after the paper

The source marks this final. That is a statement about the text, not a promise that every wallet or node has shipped it. Later documents can narrow, replace, or ignore this one. Cite the number you mean.

What to check before you use the idea

• What does Serenity Phase 0 treat as decided, and what can still be reorged?
• What share of stake or hash power does the argument need?
• Which objects are defined: FFG, LMD, GHOST?

Terms

EIP 2982

The public text titled Serenity Phase 0.

Final

The document's own label for how finished the text is. It is not a market fact.

The problem the paper names

A consensus change that is only described in a client does not tell an outside verifier what must be true.

What the design proposes

• Phase 0 of Serenity (eth2), a multi-phased upgrade to the consensus mechanism for Ethereum mainnet.
• In Phase 0, the existing PoW chain and mechanics are entirely unaffected, while a PoS chain -- the beacon chain -- is built in parallel to serve as the core of the upgraded consensus.
• In subsequent phases, the beacon chain is enhanced to support and secure the consensus of a number of parallel shard chains, ultimately incorporating current Ethereum mainnet as one of those shards.

How the mechanism is specified

• Taken from the specification, the next constraint is: In Phase 0, the existing PoW chain and mechanics are entirely unaffected, while a PoS chain -- the beacon chain -- is built in parallel to serve as the core of the upgraded consensus.
• Locate FFG, LMD, GHOST in EIP 2982 and apply it to one transaction or call.
• Then check the failure the class of rule always has: a node that did not upgrade, a reverted call, a replayed signature, or a peer that does not speak the message.

What this page does not treat as proven

• Final in the EIP process is not finality of a checkpoint.
• Parameter choices in one release are not the proof.
• The source marks this final. That is a statement about the text, not a promise that every wallet or node has shipped it.

Why a venture studio still reads it

Use EIP 2982 when a pitch says 'Serenity Phase 0' without saying whether the rule is consensus, policy, or an interface. The number is the citation. The pitch is not.