Merge pull request #10356 from SebastianSupreme/patch-1

Embracing the Beacon Chain 🤝

Author: jmcook1186

src/content/roadmap/beacon-chain/index.md

@@ -13,17 +13,15 @@ summaryPoint3: The Beacon Chain introduced the consensus logic and block gossip
   The Beacon Chain shipped on December 1, 2020, and formalized proof-of-stake as Ethereum's consensus mechanism with The Merge upgrade on September 15, 2022.
 </UpgradeStatus>
 
-## What was the Beacon Chain? {#what-is-the-beacon-chain}
+## What is the Beacon Chain? {#what-is-the-beacon-chain}
 
-The Beacon Chain was the name of the original proof-of-stake blockchain that was launched in 2020. It was created to ensure the proof-of-stake consensus logic was sound and sustainable before enabling it on Ethereum Mainnet. Therefore, it ran alongside the original proof-of-work Ethereum. Switching off proof-of-work and switching on proof-of-stake on Ethereum required instructing the Beacon Chain to accept transactions from the original Ethereum chain, bundle them into blocks and then organize them into a blockchain using a proof-of-stake based consensus mechanism. At the same moment, the original Ethereum clients turned off their mining, block propagation and consensus logic, handing that all over to the Beacon Chain. This event was known as [The Merge](/roadmap/merge/). Once The Merge happened, there were no longer two blockchains; there was just one proof-of-stake Ethereum chain.
+The Beacon Chain is the name of the original proof-of-stake blockchain that was launched in 2020. It was created to ensure the proof-of-stake consensus logic was sound and sustainable before enabling it on Ethereum Mainnet. Therefore, it ran alongside the original proof-of-work Ethereum. The Beacon Chain was a chain of 'empty' blocks, but switching off proof-of-work and switching on proof-of-stake on Ethereum required instructing the Beacon Chain to accept transaction data from execution clients, bundle them into blocks and then organize them into a blockchain using a proof-of-stake-based consensus mechanism. At the same moment, the original Ethereum clients turned off their mining, block propagation and consensus logic, handing that all over to the Beacon Chain. This event was known as [The Merge](/roadmap/merge/). Once The Merge happened, there were no longer two blockchains. Instead, there was just one proof-of-stake Ethereum, which now requires two different clients per node. The Beacon Chain is now the consensus layer, a peer-to-peer network of consensus clients that handles block gossip and consensus logic, while the original clients form the execution layer, which is responsible for gossiping and executing transactions, and managing Ethereum's state. The two layers can communicate with one another using the Engine API.
 
-## What did the Beacon Chain do? {#what-does-the-beacon-chain-do}
+## What does the Beacon Chain do? {#what-does-the-beacon-chain-do}
 
-The Beacon Chain was the name given to a ledger of accounts that conducted and coordinated the network of Ethereum [stakers](/staking/) before those stakers started validating real Ethereum transactions. It did not process transactions or handle smart contract interactions.
-
-It introduced the consensus engine (or "consensus layer") that took the place of proof-of-work mining on Ethereum and brought many significant improvements with it.
-
-The Beacon Chain was a foundational component for [the secure, environmentally friendly and scalable Ethereum we have now](/roadmap/vision/).
+The Beacon Chain is the name given to a ledger of accounts that conducted and coordinated the network of Ethereum [stakers](/staking/) before those stakers started validating real Ethereum blocks. It does not process transactions or handle smart contract interactions though because that is being done in the execution layer.
+The Beacon Chain is responsible for things like block and attestation handling, running the fork choice algorithm, and managing rewards and penalties. 
+Read more on our [node architecture page](/developers/docs/nodes-and-clients/node-architecture/#node-comparison).
 
 ## Beacon Chain impact {#beacon-chain-features}
 
@@ -35,6 +33,8 @@ Staking serves a similar purpose that [mining](/developers/docs/mining/) used to
 
 The transition to proof-of-stake made Ethereum significantly more secure and decentralized by comparison to proof-of-work. The more people that participate in the network, the more decentralized and safe from attacks it becomes.
 
+And using proof-of-stake as consensus mechanism is a foundational component for [the secure, environmentally friendly and scalable Ethereum we have now](/roadmap/vision/).
+
 <InfoBanner emoji=":money_bag:">
   If you're interested in becoming a validator and helping secure the Ethereum, <a href="/staking/">learn more about staking</a>.
 </InfoBanner>
@@ -72,4 +72,5 @@ Sharding can only safely enter the Ethereum ecosystem with a proof-of-stake cons
 ## Further Reading
 
 - [More on Ethereum's future upgrades](/roadmap/vision)
+- [More on node architecture](/developers/docs/nodes-and-clients/node-architecture)
 - [More of proof-of-stake](/developers/docs/consensus-mechanisms/pos)