Before a major upgrade is ready for the main Ethereum network, the developers always run several test rounds on test networks. This time it was the turn of Goerli’s test network for the Shanghai upgrade, but that did not go entirely without problems at first. Should we worry about the next big upgrade for Ethereum?
Minor issues
The answer to that question is a clear no. Initially, there were some issues with the Shanghai upgrade on Goerli’s test network, as not all validators installed the upgrade. This is because they don’t necessarily have an incentive to stay fully up to date with the network, as the tokens carry no value.
Tim Beiko, a key developer for Ethereum, shared quite soon after the upgrade that there were some challenges. So those challenges turned out to lie in the fact that not all validators had taken the trouble to install the new software. This is essential with a hard fork, because the rules change in such a way that validators with the old software can no longer communicate with nodes with the new software.
In the end, it took 15 epochs for the Shanghai upgrade to be fully active on Goerli’s test network. “There was nothing wrong with the software. We just had to make sure that the validators that were offline also installed the software. It was a good stress test. On to the next. The main network!” said Terence.eth.
What is the Shanghai Upgrade?
The Shanghai upgrade is a special one for Ethereum, as this upgrade makes it possible to disconnect Ethers from the Proof-of-Stake contract. To date, Staked Ethereum is stuck in the protocol. There is literally no way to untie that Ethereum.
Shanghai is expected to launch on Ethereum’s main network in early April, after which people can disconnect and sell their stake. There is a chance that a gigantic amount of Ethereum will temporarily come onto the market, but of course we will never know for sure.
There are also people who say that this means that much more new Ethereum is heading towards the Proof-of-Stake contract, because investors now have the certainty that they can always disconnect it again. In that regard, the Ethereum community is facing an interesting period.