After months of preparation, the Ethereum Shanghai upgrade is scheduled for today, April 12, 2023, at epoch 194048, which is set to occur at 22:27:35 UTC. Ethereum validators can breathe a sigh of relief as their staked Ethers will be available for withdrawal following the upgrade.
The Ethereum Shapella upgrade involves changes to the execution layer (Shanghai), consensus layer (Capella), and the Engine API. Some of the anticipated changes with the hard fork include EIP-3651 on the Warm COINBASE, EIP-3855 on the PUSH0 instruction, EIP-3860 on the Limit and meter initcode, EIP-4895 on the Beacon chain push withdrawals as operations, and EIP-6049 on Deprecate SELFDESTRUCT.
To ensure a smooth transition, Ethereum validators and node operators are requested to collaborate. They must ensure that their nodes are updated and synced with the new Ethereum version. Failure to upgrade to the new version could lead to network issues or loss of funds.
The upcoming Shanghai upgrade is anticipated to improve the security and scalability of the Ethereum network. As a result, it is advisable for crypto traders and investors to monitor the developments following the hard fork as it could affect the value of Ether and other tokens on the Ethereum network. The broader crypto ecosystem is also expected to be impacted, and the crypto community is keenly watching the outcome of the hard fork to assess its potential implications.