Ethereum’s core developer, Tim Beiko, has confirmed the successful activation of the network’s latest upgrade, Shapella, on the Goerli testnet. This upgrade, consisting of five Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs), enables the unstaking of ETH. The activation process was initiated by Epoch 162,304 at precisely 10:26 UTC and was promptly finalized. This development marks a significant milestone for the Ethereum community and paves the way for further network capabilities advancements.
Although the activation on the Goerli testnet was deemed successful, the hard fork encountered some setbacks due to several testnet validators needing to upgrade their client software before the fork. According to Ethereum core developer Tim Beiko, this could be attributed to testnet validators having “less incentive” to upgrade since the testnet’s ETH holds no value. However, Beiko remains optimistic that validators will comply with the necessary changes before the Ethereum mainnet fork occurs.
Beiko expresses a positive outlook towards the Shapella upgrade, encompassing five Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs). Among these, EIP-4895 stands out as the most eagerly awaited, as it brings Ethereum one step closer to a fully proof-of-stake driven ecosystem.
Shapella’s much-anticipated activation on the Ethereum mainnet has been slated for early April after some minor setbacks in preparing the Sepolia and Goerli testnets for the split. This hard fork will enable partial and complete withdrawals, freeing up a staggering 17.6 million ETH, translating to over $30 billion in current market value. Stay tuned for further updates on this exciting development.
The Ethereum Foundation has assured the community that they have taken measures to prevent an influx of ETH supply from inundating the market after the upgrade is rolled out. These safeguards have been put in place to ensure a smooth transition and maintain the stability of the ecosystem.
To illustrate, the number of withdrawals permitted within a 24-hour timeframe will only account for approximately 0.40% of the overall staked ETH. This is primarily due to the limitation of executing only 2,200 withdrawals per day. This constraint is because each epoch can only accommodate a maximum of ten validators, and the processing time for a period is approximately five to six minutes.
