Ethereum network’s core developers successfully deployed the first mainnet shadow fork designed to test the readiness of ETH staking withdrawal capability. It gave a peek of Ethereum’s upcoming and much anticipated Shanghai upgrade, which will introduce staked ETH withdrawals.
The Shanghai upgrade will be the first major update following Ethereum’s historic merge that transitioned the network to a proof-of-stake system in September. The merge empowered users to deposit ETH with the network to become validators and help authenticate on-chain transactions. Moreover, some users have been able to accumulate rewards in the form of newly generated ETH.
Users, since December 2020, have staked almost $26.5 billion worth of ETH to earn such rewards. But they will only be able to withdraw their newly-minted ETH and original ETH deposits once Shanghai is implemented. Marius Van Der Wijden, the Ethereum core developer, said the first ETH withdrawal mainnet shadow fork launched successfully. He tweeted that it started out with a few issues because the configuration wasn’t correctly applied. But now the config is applied correctly and all nodes are in agreement.
Ethereum is on schedule to deliver ETH withdrawal features in the next five to eight weeks. It has been the top priority for the network’s core developers. They are eager to deliver ETH withdrawal capability as quickly as possible. Shanghai was initially to include additional enhancements, including proto-danksharding and EOF. These updates were postponed for ETH withdrawals to debut by March.
