Eth2 is a community effort and there are ways you can play a part. Currently you can help out by running Eth2 clients, hacking testnets or staking your test ETH.
Eth2 roadmap:
The road to Eth2 is long and winding but there are some important checkpoints along the way.
All work on Eth2 is open source and an incredible coordination effort across a large number of teams. All timings are estimates.
Phase 0: the beacon chain
Expected: 2020
The first part of Eth2 to ship will be the beacon chain. It won't be fully operational right away because there won't be any shard chains, so there'll be nothing to keep in sync other than itself. Remember, the beacon chain's main role in Eth2 is making sure all the shards have the most up-to-date data.
At first, the beacon chain will be responsible for registering validators and coordinating everyone's staked ETH. This is foundational to the rest of Eth2 and lays the groundwork for the shard chains.
In other words, once the beacon chain is live, you'll be able to stake your real ETH. However, staking in Phase 0 is a one-way transaction. You won't be able to withdraw your ETH until the current chain becomes a shard of Eth2 in Phase 1.5. That's because staking in Phase 0 will be handled by a smart contract on mainnet (the Ethereum we use today).
Phase 1: the shard chains
Expected: 2021
Phase 1 is when we'll meet the shard chains. These are chains that are delegated a portion of Ethereum's transactions and account data. They will be proof-of-stake chains, which means validators (who have staked ETH) will create blocks – not miners like today.
We expect to start Phase 1 with 64 shards but they won't support accounts or smart contracts right away.
Phase 1.5: mainnet becomes a shard
Expected: 2021
Up until Phase 1.5, the Ethereum we use today on mainnet will continue as a proof-of-work blockchain. Transactions will continue to be processed by miners. But in Phase 1.5, mainnet will officially become a shard and transition to proof-of-stake.
For end users and dapps, this change should be seamless.
Phase 2: fully formed shards
Expected: 2021+
In Phase 2, shards should be fully functional chains. Shards will now be compatible with smart contracts and they'll be able to communicate with each other more freely. Developers may even be able to design shards in their own ways.
Read full article HERE.