Ethereum’s core developer Tim Beiko has confirmed that the long-awaited Ethereum Merge, which will see ETH’s Proof-of-Work mainnet combine with the Beacon Chain Proof-of-Stake system, has been delayed by a “few months.”

Leading stablecoin Tether (USDT) is launching on Polkadot’s “canary network” Kusama, a system of parallel blockchains that allow developers to experiment and test their applications before launching on Polkadot.

WazirX and CoinSwitch Kuber, two major Indian cryptocurrency exchanges, have disabled deposits via the United Payments Interface (UPI), a payments system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

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Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Ethereum Merge Delayed
• Tether’s USDT Launches on Polkadot’s Kusama Network
• Indian Crypto Exchanges Halt Deposits via State-Backed Network
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Ethereum Merge Delayed a ‘Few Months’

Ethereum core developer Tim Beiko has confirmed that the long-awaited Ethereum Merge, which will see ETH’s Proof-of-Work mainnet combine with the Beacon Chain Proof-of-Stake system, has been delayed by a “few months.”

Instead of June, the network’s transition to a Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm is now expected to come later this year, although Beiko insisted Ethereum is in “the final chapter of PoW.”

The delay comes after Ethereum successfully conducted a ‘shadow fork’ test on its mainnet. The fork, according to Ethereum Foundation developer Parithosh Jayanthi, is a way to “stress test our assumptions around syncing and state growth.”

Jayanthi has added that three recent shadow forks of Ethereum’s Goerli testnet revealed bugs that still need to be worked out before the update is ready to roll out.

After the Ethereum merge, the ETH that has been locked in the Beacon chain’s staking contract will be unlocked. While there’s no set timeframe for the unlock, it’s expected months after the merge.

Tether’s USDT Launches on Polkadot’s Kusama Network

Leading stablecoin Tether (USDT) is launching on Polkadot’s “canary network” Kusama, a system of parallel blockchains that allow developers to experiment and test their applications before launching on Polkadot.

Peter Mauric, head of public affairs at Polkadot developer Parity Technologies, commented the addition of USDT is a milestone for Kusama as it will later be for Polkadot itself as accessibility and interoperability is the goal of the two networks.

At launch, USDT will have an asset tag allowing Polkadot and Kusama’s rule-operating relay chains to recognize tokens other than their native currencies, DOT and KSM. The stablecoin will power transactions on Kusama’s Statemine, a so-called “public good parachain” for asset deployment and balance-keeping of fungible and non-fungible tokens.

Tether’s USDT is also live on a number of other networks including Omni, Ethereum, Solana, Algorand, EOS, Liquid Network, TRON, and Bitcoin Cash’s Standard Ledger Protocol.

Indian Crypto Exchanges Halt Deposits via State-Backed Network

WazirX and CoinSwitch Kuber, two major Indian cryptocurrency exchanges, have disabled deposits via the United Payments Interface (UPI), a payments system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

The NPCI is part of an initiative from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) to create a robust payment and settlement infrastructure in the country.

The exchanges reportedly halted IPO over “regulatory uncertainty,” with WazirX saying its deposit facility via UPI had been disabled in December. The move comes shortly after Coinbase disabled support for UPI shortly after launching in India.

Last week, the NPCI issued a statement saying it was not aware of any cryptocurrency exchange using its UPI framework.

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