The Ethereum blockchain is set to undergo a major upgrade called “Shapella” on April 12, 2023. This upgrade combines the Shanghai and Capella validator changes and aims to enable staking validators to withdraw their staked ethereum. The upgrade is expected to unlock $34 billion or 18.14 million ether locked into the Beacon chain contract, allowing validators to withdraw their funds subject to specific thresholds built into the rules, such as a 1,800 validator cap per day. The Ethereum Foundation has provided all the essential information about the upgrade in a blog post, and all validators must upgrade their clients. Average ethereum users will not be required to take any action for the hard fork.
The Shapella upgrade has been eagerly awaited and discussed by members of the crypto community, and according to statistics, the upgrade is just over 24 hours away. The Shanghai and Capella upgrades will occur simultaneously, with Shanghai upgrading the network’s execution clients, and Capella focused on the consensus layer or consensus clients. The purpose of Shapella is to enable staking validators to withdraw their funds for the first time, and it introduces new functionality to both the execution and consensus layer.
The day before the Shapella upgrade, the price of ethereum (ETH) has risen 2.9% over the last day. In the past 30 days, the second-largest crypto asset by market capitalization has also increased 29.9% against the U.S. dollar. Presently, the crypto asset’s overall valuation of $230.7 billion represents 17.9% of the crypto economy’s value, which is currently at $1.28 trillion.
According to research from analysts at Kaiko, ethereum markets have underperformed compared to bitcoin ahead of the Shapella upgrade. “Ethereum’s spot volumes have struggled to maintain pace with bitcoin’s, with ethereum’s market share of USD volume recently hitting its lowest levels since March 2021,” Kaiko analysts wrote on Tuesday, April 11.
The Shapella upgrade is a significant milestone for the Ethereum network, and its potential impact on the wider crypto market is yet to be seen. Some experts predict that it could lead to increased adoption of ethereum and boost its market share. Others believe that it could lead to increased competition from other blockchain networks that offer similar functionality. Whatever the case may be, it is clear that the crypto community is eagerly watching the Shapella upgrade and its impact on the industry.
Jamie Redman, the News Lead at Bitcoin.com News, is a financial tech journalist living in Florida. He has been an active member of the cryptocurrency community since 2011 and has written more than 6,000 articles for Bitcoin.com News about the disruptive protocols emerging today.
In conclusion, the Shapella upgrade is a significant milestone for the Ethereum network, and it is expected to unlock billions of dollars in locked funds. The upgrade aims to enable staking validators to withdraw their funds for the first time, introducing new functionality to both the execution and consensus layer. While average ethereum users will not be required to take any action for the hard fork, all validators must upgrade their clients. The impact of the Shapella upgrade on the wider crypto market is yet to be seen, but it is clear that the crypto community is eagerly watching this development.
