News

Ethereum Just Completed The Long-Awaited Merge Upgrade

According to a Twitter post from co-founder Vitalik Buterin, The Ethereum blockchain network just completed the most ambitious software upgrade ever to take place in crypto.

Published

4 years ago

September 15, 2022

Nour Nasir

ethereum just completed the long-awaited merge upgrade

Ethereum is probably the most important commercial highway in the crypto landscape, and it has now been “merged” — a process that replaced older, power-sapping network computers with more modern and energy-efficient machines. The upgrade will see Ethereum’s energy expenditure decline by a massive 99%.

This kind of upgrade has never been attempted in crypto until now, which is no surprise, as Ethereum is home to 3,500 apps and handles billions of dollars of crypto transactions. End-users shouldn’t notice the merge, but it will eventually make the network faster and cheaper to run.

Although now completed, Ethereum’s merge could see the network suffering from occasional glitches or hang-ups for at least several weeks. Exchanges like Coinbase paused Ethereum withdrawals and deposits during the event in anticipation of hacking attempts and general instability.

There is some concern that EthereumPOW and other forks may create copies that still run on the older computers, potentially creating confusion and leading to more scams and hacking attempts. USDC stablecoin issuer Circle and oracle provider Chainlink have both announced that they won’t support forked versions of Ethereum, and whether those forked chains remain viable over time is something that isn’t yet known.

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So how will the merge affect crypto mining? Only time will tell, but as profitability has already taken a nosedive this year, the merge will further squeeze those who make a living from crypto mining. Energy costs are rising globally, and now miners are faced with the prospect of changing to new equipment or selling up for good.

So what does the future hold for Ethereum in the wake of these massive changes? So far, the jury is out, but some traders anticipate the network overtaking Bitcoin in the long run and are hedging vast sums of money on their prediction.

News

YouTube Rolls Out Supervised Children’s Accounts Across MENA

An industry-first feed timer lets parents cap Shorts scrolling. Access can also be switched off entirely ahead of exam season.

Published

12 hours ago

July 10, 2026

Dana Saadeh

YouTube

YouTube has launched supervised kid accounts across the Middle East and North Africa, giving parents a way to hand their children the main YouTube app without handing over all of it. Announced in Dubai on July 2, the accounts are built directly into the platform rather than the standalone YouTube Kids app, and are aimed at families who feel a child has outgrown the curated library but isn’t ready for the open feed.

Parents can choose from three content settings, each broadly aligned with international content ratings. Explore covers educational videos, tutorials, arts and crafts, and dance. Explore More adds gaming and live streams. Most of YouTube opens up almost everything except videos rated 18+ or deemed inappropriate for supervised accounts.

The standout tool is an industry-first Shorts feed timer, which lets parents set daily limits on short-form scrolling. Set it to zero and Shorts disappears altogether – a lever YouTube suggests parents might pull ahead of exam season. Other protections are on by default for all users under 18: “Take a Break” and “Bedtime” reminders, no personalized ad targeting, autoplay switched off, and no ability to upload videos or write comments. The accounts are optional, and parents can end supervision at any time.

The kid accounts join supervised teen accounts already available across the region, which notify parents by email when a teenager uploads a video or starts a live stream.

“YouTube has been a huge part of families’ lives across this region for over 20 years,” said Javid Aslanov, head of YouTube Middle East and North Africa, citing Kantar research showing 95% of viewers in Saudi Arabia and the UAE agree YouTube has top content in education and learning.

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“It’s essential that we protect young people in – not from – the digital world,” added Garth Graham, YouTube’s head of health.

The new settings are rolling out gradually across the MENA, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, and Iraq. The latest features can be set up through Family Center in the YouTube app or via Google Family Link.