Ethereum’s Shanghai Upgrade Gets Delayed Until Mid-April

Ethereum’s core developers have rescheduled the much-anticipated Shanghai hard fork for early April. The upgrade was initially set for release in late March but has been postponed by approximately two weeks. 

The developers reached a consensus during a meeting on March 2, stating that the hard fork would be launched around two weeks after the Goerli testnet’s release, scheduled for March 14. The testnet will be the final rehearsal before the Shanghai upgrade goes live.

Tim Beiko, Ethereum’s core developer and project coordinator, stated that they usually give users at least two weeks’ notice before launching the mainnet. So, assuming everything goes smoothly with the Goerli testnet, the earliest deployment date is in the first week of April. That gives users some extra time to get their ducks in a row.

Although the mainnet launch date was not explicitly agreed upon, the developers will “probably” set a date during the next meeting on March 16. After that, the Shanghai Capella upgrade will be the last chance for Ethereum clients and staking providers to ensure a smooth transition to the Shanghai hard fork.

We didn't agree to a mainnet date explicitly, but assuming things go well on Goerli, we'd probably set a date on the next ACDE (Mar 16).

— timbeiko.eth (@TimBeiko) March 2, 2023

The upgrade will enable the phased withdrawal of Ethereum staked on the Beacon Chain. That withdrawal process will be dynamic and dependent on the number of validators exiting at any given time.

Validators must undergo a two-stage process involving an exit queue and a withdrawal period. Therefore, the withdrawal process will take some time. However, everything will happen in an orderly fashion with minimal market impact.

There are 17.1 million ETH staked on the Beacon Chain, representing just over 14% of the entire supply. That sum is valued at around $28 billion at current asset prices. 

Shanghai is also considered bullish for liquid staking providers. Staked ETH has been locked on the Beacon Chain since the Ethereum consensus layer was launched in December 2020.

That said, others fear liquid staking providers will struggle to remain relevant. Unless they can offer additional or higher returns, there is no reason to rely on them after the upgrade. 

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