Hetzner stated once again that it will not permit any mining operations for the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) or Proof-of-Work protocols. According to the terms of service for the host, this would surely have an effect on several crucial parts of the impending Merge.

The Terms of Service Are Laid Out by Hetzner

A recent conversation brought to light the fact that the centralized cloud provider had barred its customers utilizing Ethereum from participating in blockchain node operations. In addition, Hetzner said that it would prevent some crypto operations on the Ethereum network.

Nevertheless, it came as a surprise that the Ethereum community was not subject to any of the company's restrictions. The action taken by Hetzner was interpreted by the community as posing a risk to the environment of the network. This is due to the fact that roughly 16 percent of Ethereum's nodes are hosted by Hetzner.

There is a prevalent attitude among the cryptocurrency industry that discourages putting too much faith in centralized service providers. The digital asset space views it as a barrier to the long-term viability of its business and considers it an obstacle.

The anti-crypto measures of the service provider have been criticized by a number of customers, who describe them as restrictive and inadmissible. During this time, Hetzner provided more information regarding the legal ramifications of using its services for cryptocurrency-related activities.

The company has issued a statement saying that its goods cannot be used in any mining operations under any circumstances. This also applies to the operation of nodes, mining, and the storage of blockchain data together with other assets. Additionally, the company mentioned its permission to power Ethereum, which it conceded is up to the company's choice but yet was brought up throughout the conversation.

The most recent development puts to light, once more, one of the drawbacks of collaborating with centralized service providers. This measure has repercussions for successful crypto companies who are attempting to scale their operations.

Amazon.com, which hosts 54 percent of all Ethereum nodes, is the driving force behind the majority of Ethereum's network. In addition, Oracle Cloud, Alibaba, and Google Cloud are now hosting the nodes, with each company holding 4.1%, 2.8%, and 2.7% of the nodes accordingly.

The Uncertain Prospects of Ethereum

Since the Ethereum development team announced the launch date for the impending Merge update, it has been a subject of discussion for a considerable amount of time. The numerous misunderstandings that have surfaced as a result of the conversation center on the trajectory of the blockchain network.

In addition, many misleading discussions have centered on the topic of lowered gas fees for the network, which has been a source of frustration for a considerable amount of time. The network is improved as a result of the move from the PoW consensus protocol to the PoS consensus protocol.

Nevertheless, increasing the capacity of the network is much more important than lowering the prices of gas. There has been widespread consensus among investors that lower transaction fees should be a primary priority for the industry, but this will not be the case.

Another aspect of the network that should be taken into consideration is how quickly transactions are processed following the Merge. The change will result in an increase in processing time; nonetheless, it is possible that customers will not notice the modest improvement brought about by the change.

The extent to which the general outcome of the Ethereum network will be improved is not yet known but there is little doubt that there will be some improvement. The community is optimistic about the future development of the network, but ultimately, only time will tell.