Ethereum (ETH) investors are inching closer to accessing their staked ETH after the network’s developers announced a new possible date for the highly anticipated Shanghai upgrade.
Indeed, Ethereum’s core developers, in a meeting on March 16, set the date of April 12 for the crucial Shanghai-Capella upgrade, also known as Shapella, on the main network.
According to the developers, the Shapella upgrade was successfully launched on the Goerli testnet as the final dress rehearsal before the mainnet launch. The upgrade is scheduled to take place at 10:27 a.m. UTC on April 12, with epoch number 620,9536.
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The highlight of the upgrade is Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 4895, which will enable validator staking withdrawals on the main network, a critical feature that was not included during Ethereum’s transition to proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus last September after the Merge upgrade.
Furthermore, the Shapella upgrade will include three additional improvements to optimize gas costs for specific activities. Ahead of the withdrawals, the developers have previously conducted various public testing phases on three tests since February, including Sepolia, Zhejiang, and Goerli.
ETH withdrawals from their respective validator sets were also successfully processed on all three testnets.
Impact on ETH’s price
There are projections that the Shanghai upgrade will likely have a positive impact on Ethereum’s price, considering that before the Merge upgrade, there was a significant influx of capital, which appeared to be a case of “buy the rumor, sell the news.”
With the Shanghai upgrade set to introduce more staking options, analysts view it as a positive development for Ethereum’s value. The possibility of driving Ethereum’s value higher is further validated by the fact that the upgrade will give room to the release of staked ETH, a possible bullish trigger.
At the same time, one of the Merge upgrades long term projected benefits is the introduction of institutional investors on the platform.
Ethereum price analysis
In the meantime, Ethereum has been trading in tandem with the general market. Amid the current market rally, Ethereum has capitalized by breaching the $1,700 resistance level. By press time, Ethereum was trading at $1,723 with weekly gains of over 20%.
If the upcoming upgrade acts as a bullish aspect for Ethereum, it will be a crucial foundation for the second-ranked cryptocurrency by market cap to target reclaiming $2,000. On the flip side, Ethereum faces the possibility of retesting the $1,500 position, which is acting as a key support level.
Additionally, the regulatory impact on staking activities will likely also have an impact on the value of Ethereum.
Disclaimer: The content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing, your capital is at risk.
