Ethereum Announces Second Testnet for Shanghai Hard Fork Unlocking ETH Staking
Ethereum developers have launched a new testnet in preparation for the upcoming Shanghai upgrade, slated for March 2023.
On January 12, Ethereum rolled out its second testnet for the Shanghai hard fork, an upgrade set to unlock a substantial amount of ETH currently held in Ethereum 2.0 staking contracts.
Read More: Shanghai Hard Fork Unlocking ETH Staking Delayed to March 2023
The new testnet is designed to test and debug the Shanghai codebase. Additionally, the Ethereum team plans to conduct a trial hard fork on this testnet to identify any potential issues that may arise.
Furthermore, there is a possibility of launching a public testnet at the end of February. This would allow ETH staking projects to test integration and ensure that the upgrade and ETH staking deposit/withdrawal processes proceed smoothly.
Shanghai has garnered significant attention because it will incorporate EIP-4895, which permits those who have staked ETH in Ethereum 2.0 contracts to withdraw their funds along with staking rewards. Ethereum opened ETH 2.0 staking contracts in November 2020 as part of preparations for The Merge. As of this writing, over 15.9 million ETH, worth $24.8 billion, is locked in these contracts.
ETH Locked in Ethereum 2.0 Staking Contracts as of January 14, 2023. Source: Beaconcha.in
Shanghai will be Ethereum's first major upgrade post-The Merge—an historic event that transitioned the consensus mechanism from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake in September 2022.
In addition, Ethereum may implement another upgrade in the fall of 2023, known as EIP-4844, which aims to activate the proto-danksharding mechanism. This upgrade is expected to enhance transaction throughput and reduce fees on Ethereum’s Layer-2 rollup solutions.
