Ethereum devs finalize fork on the Zheijang testnet, here’s what it means for ETH


  • Ethereum ecosystem developers have agreed to launch the Shapella fork on the Zheijang testnet on February 7. 
  • According to lead Ethereum developer Tim Beiko, the Sepolia testnet can be launched on Sepolia on February 9. 
  • Majority of developers on Ethereum are in favor enabling ETH token withdrawals as soon as possible. 

Ethereum network’s core development team has announced that the Shanghai and Capella forks can be launched on the Zheijang testnet on February 7. Tim Beiko, the core ETH developer, announced that the two new forks named Shapella would launch at Epoch 1350. 

The Sepolia and Goerli testnets will follow closely after. Beiko encouraged validators to test Shapella by acquiring 33 ETH from the testnet’s faucet before the fork goes live. 

Also read: Bitcoin on-chain metrics show compelling signs of accumulation and continuation of BTC price rally

Ethereum core dev reveals Shapella devnet is live, testnet will go live next week

Ethereum network’s core developer Tim Beiko told his 99,100 followers on Twitter that core developers wrapped another call on February 2. The developers covered the steps to Shanghai and Capella (Shapella) testnets, and the team is resolving configuration issues that came up during the launch. 

The Shapella fork is planned for February 7, 3 PM UTC. Beiko urged developers to run a validator on the Zheijang testnet, collect 33 ETH via the faucet, start a validator and be ready for Shapella on Tuesday. 

The Ethereum core developer argues that if the Zheijang fork goes well, the network would be ready to move to public testnets, Sepolia and Goerli. Testnets are critical to the Ethereum ecosystem as they allow developers to discover transaction problems without risking real funds before a blockchain’s mainnet upgrade.

Developers are prepared to unlock 16 million ETH despite concerns

While most ETH ecosystem developers agree that the Shanghai upgrade is on track, a minority of developers have expressed concern that most are bowing to public pressure at the expense of Ethereum’s future. 

Several developers downvoted a recent technical proposal to make withdrawals compatible with a specific encoding method. Devs chose to abide by a method that might result in imminent deprecation in the asset. 

Micah Zoltu, an ETH developer, voiced his concern, 

It feels like we’re not thinking about the long-term health of Ethereum. We’re thinking, how do we do what the public wants today?

ETH developers believe that a low-risk proposition and a relatively low-glitch product with a deprecated encoding scheme is better than a delayed product with 16 million ETH tokens staked on the Beacon chain contract. 

This means the forks and testnets will occur at the stipulated time as the ecosystem prepares for a massive ETH unlock. To know more about ETH token unlock, check this out. 


Information on these pages contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Markets and instruments profiled on this page are for informational purposes only and should not in any way come across as a recommendation to buy or sell in these assets. You should do your own thorough research before making any investment decisions. FXStreet does not in any way guarantee that this information is free from mistakes, errors, or material misstatements. It also does not guarantee that this information is of a timely nature. Investing in Open Markets involves a great deal of risk, including the loss of all or a portion of your investment, as well as emotional distress. All risks, losses and costs associated with investing, including total loss of principal, are your responsibility. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of FXStreet nor its advertisers. The author will not be held responsible for information that is found at the end of links posted on this page.

If not otherwise explicitly mentioned in the body of the article, at the time of writing, the author has no position in any stock mentioned in this article and no business relationship with any company mentioned. The author has not received compensation for writing this article, other than from FXStreet.

FXStreet and the author do not provide personalized recommendations. The author makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of this information. FXStreet and the author will not be liable for any errors, omissions or any losses, injuries or damages arising from this information and its display or use. Errors and omissions excepted.

The author and FXStreet are not registered investment advisors and nothing in this article is intended to be investment advice.

Recommended content


Recommended Content

Editors’ Picks

Why Solana, XRP, Dogecoin and BNB are crashing?

Why Solana, XRP, Dogecoin and BNB are crashing?

Solana (SOL), XRP, Dogecoin (DOGE) and Binance Coin (BNB) decline on Tuesday. Top altcoins ranked by market capitalization are in a downward trend, even though Bitcoin (BTC) continues to consolidate around the $95,000 level. 

More Cryptocurrencies News
Bitcoin Price Forecast: BTC consolidates as options market awaits policy clarity

Bitcoin Price Forecast: BTC consolidates as options market awaits policy clarity

Bitcoin (BTC) has been consolidating between $94,000 and $100,000 for nearly two weeks, with reports from Bitfinex indicating increased macro-correlation and maturity as a risk asset.

More Bitcoin News
Real-World Assets outperform the AI sector in the crypto market over the past month

Real-World Assets outperform the AI sector in the crypto market over the past month

Real-World Assets (RWAs) outperformed the Artificial Intelligence (AI) sector in the crypto market over the past month, with a weighted average gain of 15.6% in January. 

More Cryptocurrencies News
Storj Price Forecast: Bulls aiming for double-digit gains

Storj Price Forecast: Bulls aiming for double-digit gains

Storj (STORJ), an open-source platform that leverages the blockchain to provide end-to-end encrypted cloud storage services, continues to trade higher by 4.4%, around $0.39 on Tuesday after rallying 5% the previous day.

More Cryptocurrencies News
Bitcoin: BTC consolidates before a big move

Bitcoin: BTC consolidates before a big move

Bitcoin price has been consolidating between $94,000 and $100,000 for the last ten days. US Bitcoin spot ETF data recorded a total net outflow of $650.80 million until Thursday.

Read full analysis
The Best Brokers of the Year

The Best Brokers of the Year

SPONSORED Explore top-quality choices worldwide and locally. Compare key features like spreads, leverage, and platforms. Find the right broker for your needs, whether trading CFDs, Forex pairs like EUR/USD, or commodities like Gold.

Read More

BTC

ETH

XRP