post-merge updates: intro to ether

src/content/developers/docs/intro-to-ethereum/index.md

@@ -16,15 +16,8 @@ A blockchain is a public database that is updated and shared across many compute
 
 Every computer in the network must agree upon each new block and the chain as a whole. These computers are known as "nodes". Nodes ensure everyone interacting with the blockchain has the same data. To accomplish this distributed agreement, blockchains need a consensus mechanism.
 
-Ethereum currently uses a [proof-of-work](/developers/docs/consensus-mechanisms/pow/) consensus mechanism. This means that anyone who wants to add new blocks to the chain must solve a difficult puzzle that requires a lot of computing power. Solving the puzzle "proves" that you have done the "work" by using computational resources. Doing this is known as [mining](/developers/docs/consensus-mechanisms/pow/mining/). Mining is typically brute force trial and error, but successfully adding a block is rewarded in ETH.
+Ethereum uses a [proof-of-stake-based consensus mechanism](/developers/docs/consensus-mechanisms/pos). Anyone who wants to add new blocks to the chain must stake at least 32 ETH into the deposit contract and run validator software. They then can be randomly selected to propose blocks that other validators check and add to the blockchain. In this model, there is usually only one chain, but network latency and dishonest behavior can cause multiple blocks to exist at the same position near the head of the chain. To resolve this, a fork-choice algorithm selects one canonical set of blocks. The blocks selected are the ones that form the heaviest possible chain, where 'heavy' refers to the number of validators that have endorsed the blocks (weighted by the ETH they have staked). There is a system of rewards and penalties that strongly incentivize participants to be honest and online as much as possible.
 
-New blocks are broadcast to the nodes in the network, checked and verified, thus updating the state of the blockchain for everyone.
-
-So to summarize, when you send ETH to someone, the transaction must be added to the block which will get mined. The updated state is then shared with the entire network.
-
-Watch Austin walk you through blockchains:
-
-<YouTube id="zcX7OJ-L8XQ" />
 
 If you want to see how blockchain hashes data and then the previous block references all the past blocks, be sure to check out [this demo](https://andersbrownworth.com/blockchain/blockchain) by Anders Brownworth and watch the accompanying video below.
 
@@ -34,6 +27,8 @@ Watch Anders explain hashes in blockchains:
 
 ## What is Ethereum? {#what-is-ethereum}
 
+Ethereum is a blockchain with a computer embedded in it. It is the foundation for building apps and organizations in a decentralized, permissionless, censorship-resistant way.
+
 In the Ethereum universe, there is a single, canonical computer (called the Ethereum Virtual Machine, or EVM) whose state everyone on the Ethereum network agrees on. Everyone who participates in the Ethereum network (every Ethereum node) keeps a copy of the state of this computer. Additionally, any participant can broadcast a request for this computer to perform arbitrary computation. Whenever such a request is broadcast, other participants on the network verify, validate, and carry out ("execute") the computation. This execution causes a state change in the EVM, which is committed and propagated throughout the entire network.
 
 Requests for computation are called transaction requests; the record of all transactions and the EVM's present state gets stored on the blockchain, which in turn is stored and agreed upon by all nodes.
@@ -42,11 +37,13 @@ Cryptographic mechanisms ensure that once transactions are verified as valid and
 
 ## What is ether? {#what-is-ether}
 
-**Ether (ETH)** is the native cryptocurrency of Ethereum. The purpose of ether is to allow for a market for computation. Such a market provides an economic incentive for participants to verify and execute transaction requests and provide computational resources to the network.
+**Ether (ETH)** is the native cryptocurrency of Ethereum. The purpose of ETH is to allow for a market for computation. Such a market provides an economic incentive for participants to verify and execute transaction requests and provide computational resources to the network.
+
+Any participant who broadcasts a transaction request must also offer some amount of ETH to the network as a bounty. The network will award this bounty to whoever eventually does the work of verifying the transaction, executing it, committing it to the blockchain, and broadcasting it to the network.
 
-Any participant who broadcasts a transaction request must also offer some amount of ether to the network as a bounty. This bounty will be awarded to whoever eventually does the work of verifying the transaction, executing it, committing it to the blockchain, and broadcasting it to the network.
+The amount of ETH paid corresponds to the time required to do the computation. These bounties also prevent malicious participants from intentionally clogging the network by requesting the execution of infinite computation or other resource-intensive scripts, as these participants must pay for computation time.
 
-The amount of ether paid corresponds to the time required to do the computation. These bounties also prevent malicious participants from intentionally clogging the network by requesting the execution of infinite computation or other resource-intensive scripts, as these participants must pay for computation time.
+ETH is also used to provide crypto-economic security to the network in three main ways: 1) it is used as a means to reward validators who propose blocks or call out dishonest behavior by other validators; 2) It is staked by validators, acting as collateral against dishonest behavior—if validators attempt to misbehave their ETH can be destroyed; 3) it is used to weight 'votes' for newly proposed blocks, feeding into the fork-choice part of the consensus mechanism.
 
 ## What are smart contracts? {#what-are-smart-contracts}