Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin is reminding node operators to upgrade their clients before the Bellatrix “hard fork,” slated for Sept. 6. Buterin said that the scheduled upgrade will be the final update that prepares the Beacon chain (proof-of-stake chain) for the Merge.

The merge is still expected to happen around Sep 13-15. What's happening today is the Bellatrix hard fork, which *prepares* the chain for the merge. Still important though - make sure to update your clients!

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) September 6, 2022

An Ethereum client is the software that allows Ethereum nodes to read blocks on the blockchain and smart contracts. A “node” is the running piece of the client software. In order to run a node, one has to first download an Ethereum client application. A node can be run by different Ethereum client software that varies in the programming language used and code base.

Ethereum node operators must comply with the Bellatrix upgrade by updating its consensus layer clients prior to epoch 144896 on the Beacon Chain. The upgrade is scheduled to take place at 11:34:47 am UTC. This upgrade consolidates the PoS chain with the current execution layer and is the last key update before the Merge.

Prior to the Bellatrix upgrade, 73.5% of all node operators were Merge ready, meaning 26.5% of node operators were yet to update their clients. Ethereum foundation warned that a non-updated client would sync to the pre-fork blockchain.

Apart from Buterin, lead developer Tim Beiko also reminded node operators to update their clients before the key upgrade.

Bellatrix is tomorrow Last chance to upgrade your node if you haven’t yet!

We’re mergiiiing https://t.co/0VQ9zb6wjN

— Tim Beiko | timbeiko.eth (@TimBeiko) September 5, 2022

The Bellatrix upgrade will be followed by the official Merge slated between Sept.13-15 in an official event called the “Paris Upgrade.” The Merge will be triggered when Terminal Total Difficulty (TTD) reaches 58750000000000000000000, after which the next block will be produced by a Beacon Chain validator marking the official beginning of Ethereum’s PoS era.

The much-awaited transition would mark the completion of the second phase of the three-phase transition process for Ethereum. With the move to PoS, Ethereum is aiming to become more energy efficient and scalable. However, the Merge won’t have any impact on the gas fee or scalability, those features are expected to arrive with the completion of the final phase slated for late 2023.

The Ether (ETH) price registered a bullish surge over the last 24 hours and is trading at $1,662 at publishing time time. The second largest cryptocurrency outperformed Bitcoin (BTC) on the 24-hour chart registering a 6.41% surge against BTC’s 1.4%. ETH price has built a weekly momentum as well seeing a weekly gain of 7% with the Merge just over a week away.