Ethereum’s highly anticipated Shapella hard fork is set to activate on the mainnet at epoch 194,048, scheduled for 10:27 pm UTC on April 12.
This significant update will enable Ethereum validators to withdraw their staked Ether from the Beacon Chain, marking a major milestone for the Ethereum network.
The Ethereum Foundation confirmed the epoch, slot, and time after a week of deliberation led by core developer Tim Beiko.
https://twitter.com/TimBeiko/status/1640722906744487936?
The Shapella hard fork introduces Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 4895, which facilitates the withdrawal process by “pushing” staked Ether from the Beacon Chain to the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) execution layer.
As of now, there are 17.81 million Ether staked on the Beacon Chain. With a current price of $1,776, approximately $31.6 billion will be incrementally unlocked over time following the Shapella update. To prevent market disruption, the hard fork includes several mechanisms to allow for partial and full withdrawals in a controlled manner.
Shapella is considered the most significant hard fork since the Paris upgrade — the Merge — which transitioned Ethereum’s consensus mechanism from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake on September 15.
Other key hard forks in Ethereum’s history include London, which introduced EIP-1559 in August 2021 to make Ether deflationary over time, and Berlin, which optimized gas costs for some EVM actions in April 2021.
Additionally, the Beacon Chain Genesis marked the first block produced on the proof-of-stake chain on December 1, 2020.
Istanbul, in December 2019, improved denial-of-service attack resilience and enhanced the performance of layer-2 scaling solutions based on SNARKs and STARKs.
https://twitter.com/TimBeiko/status/1640723677074563072?
The Ethereum Foundation’s confidence in the Shapella hard fork is bolstered by the smooth performance of the testnet run on Goerli. Despite a notable delay in activation time due to many validators not updating their client software during the testnet run, Beiko is optimistic about the mainnet update.
Validators will be economically incentivized to make the necessary updates for the mainnet, minimizing potential delays and ensuring a smooth rollout.
In preparation for the hard fork, the Ethereum Foundation has doubled rewards for any bugs found in the Shapella code.
Successful bounties may receive rewards ranging from $2,000 to $250,000, depending on the severity of the bug discovered. This move demonstrates the Foundation’s commitment to ensuring the security and stability of the Ethereum network during this crucial update.
With the Shapella hard fork just around the corner, Ethereum validators and users alike are eagerly awaiting the unlocking of staked Ether.