bloXroute is on track for the merge: update

By: Mitchell Mujwit, Production Engineer

Happy Merge Week!

First, let me say thank you to all of you who jumped right in and upgraded to our merge-support Go Gateway. Incorporating your feedback, we have released a new version v2.116.22 that improves the connection to the consensus layer, adding a private key that can be used to keep the gateway connected after a restart.

We recommend everyone to upgrade to this version in order to be up to date with our latest release as the merge is right around the corner.

What's new in this release?

— Improved connectivity with the execution layer and consensus layer clients

— There are now two ways to connect with the Ethereum client. You can connect either via the execution layer enode (as before) or by providing the consensus layer enr, which will give the best performance.

— Bug fixes

For gateway installation instructions, please refer to https://docs.bloxroute.com/gateway/gateway-installation/connecting-gateway-to-consensus-layer.

We now have official support for consensus layers Lighthouse and Prysm.

What comes next?

— We are working hard to complete Teku and Nimbus support. Please stay tuned for future announcements on this front; we expect to have documentation released soon.

— Builders will start building blocks 16 epochs post merge, it is also 3 builders now not 2 same for relays (max-profit, ethical, regulated)

One last thing:

— Python Gateway EOL will be on September 15th, 2022. Professional users who run a Python Gateway will need to switch to Cloud-API or upgrade their account.