Ethereum's main coders have chosen April 12 as the date for the Shanghai hard fork.
The improvement will allow Ether that has been locked in deposits to be retrieved on the Beacon Chain, finishing Ethereum's adaptation to a proof-of-stake agreement.
In a major milestone for the future of Ethereum, the long-awaited upgrade for the Shanghai mainnet looks set to go live in the coming weeks. The upgrade features five Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) that will revolutionize the way Ethereum works, and culminates in the introduction of EIP-4985, which will enable staked Ether (ETH) withdrawals on the Beacon Chain. This will complete Ethereum's transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus. As such, it is expected that Ethereum's native cryptocurrency, Ether, will see significant value growth in the coming months.
Developers have now confirmed that the long-anticipated GitHub fork will take place on April 12 at 10:27:35 PM UTC, epoch 620,9536. The fork, originally expected to take place in March, has been pushed back to early April. Developers have now confirmed the official date, giving everyone plenty of time to prepare for the upcoming changes.
6209536 4/12/2023, 10:27:35 PM UTC
— timbeiko.eth (@TimBeiko) March 16, 2023
In a major update for the blockchain network, validators will now receive rewards payments automatically at periodic intervals into their withdrawal addresses. This is great news for stakers who are looking to maximize their returns from participating in the network. In addition to the automated payments, stakers can also exit their positions entirely, reclaiming their entire balance. This new feature will allow for greater flexibility for stakers and will help the network grow.
Ethereum PoS smart contract has seen a surge in activity, according to Etherscan. A staggering 17.6 million ETH, with a total value of nearly $29.4 billion at the time of publication, has been attracted to the upgrade. However, industry analysts are predicting a possible sell-off in the short term, as reported by Cointelegraph. While this could cause a temporary dip in the market, the long-term prospects of Ethereum PoS look very promising.
The crypto world has been watching Ethereum's transition from a Proof-of-Work consensus to a Proof-of-Stake consensus with great interest. For many, the shift may be only technical, but for regulators, it has the potential to bring ETH under their purview. Last September, United States Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler suggested that the blockchain’s transition could have regulatory implications, and his words seem to have been prescient. The crypto space is now waiting to see what this could mean in terms of governance and regulation.
In a move that could have far-reaching implications for the cryptocurrency industry, former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler has suggested that some proof-of-stake coins could be classified as securities. This statement follows a recent crackdown by the SEC on crypto firms providing staking services in the U.S.
“Whatever they’re promoting and putting into a protocol, and locking up their tokens in a protocol, a protocol that’s often a small group of entrepreneurs and developers are developing, I would just suggest that each of these token operators [...] seek to come into compliance, and the same with the intermediaries."
