The cryptocurrency industry has had a terrible year. The devastating crash took nearly $1 trillion out of the market and drained thousands of people’s savings. Several companies filed for bankruptcy.

Now the industry is focusing on one potential space saver: a long-awaited software upgrade to Ethereum, the most popular cryptocurrency platform that provides the technical backbone for thousands of cryptocurrency projects. The innovation, known as a merger, has reached near-mythical status after years of delay, leading some insiders to question whether it will happen.

However, if everything goes according to plan, the merger will take place around September 10. 15, eight years after the original discussion. The change will move Ethereum to a more energy-efficient infrastructure, addressing widespread criticism that the cryptocurrency’s climate impacts outweigh its potential benefits. This will set the stage for further innovations to reduce the huge fees required to trade ether, the platform’s signature currency and the second most valuable digital asset after bitcoin.

“These changes essentially create a roadmap for a future that is more scalable, more energy efficient and more useful for the average person,” said Joseph Ayoub, a Citi analyst who studies corporate mergers. “It’s a prerequisite for adoption.”