What Next After Ethereum's Shanghai Upgrade? Hangzhou?

Reading this, you may think that I want to discuss cities. Well, it’s far from that— I am sorry to disappoint. Instead, the Ethereum blockchain would be my focus. You may ask why, and I would be back with an answer in no time. Let's get right into it.

If you are an avid follower of the happenings in the crypto ecosystem for a while, you would agree that the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) project has been at the center of attention for quite a number of reasons. From the consensus switch to creating a 2023 roadmap, Ethereum seems to have proven why Bitcoin maximalists detest its courage. But where is this all heading?

Before Shanghai, Drop-off at Sepolia

Ethereum’s most significant event in 2022 was the Merge where it exited the Proof-of-Work (PoW) mechanism to PoS. While the transition came with a lot of controversies, the second most valuable blockchain seems to have settled into its new home.

Meanwhile, the Ethereum development team is faced with new challenges in the new year. Prior to the time of writing, its Mainnet upgrade for validators to withdraw their already-staked Ether [stETH] was billed for the first quarter.

For context, the validators are a group who have staked at least 32 ETH. These set of people also have the responsibility of verifying transactions on the blockchain and guaranteeing Ethereum’s security. However, there have been some delays in the event tagged the “Shanghai Upgrade”.

But hold-ups did not happen without progress as Ethereum also recorded success with a Testnet stage. Recently, the Sepolia Testnet was declared successful.

This stage helps Ethereum application developers to test their smart contracts without spending real EHT. Hence, the declaration implied that validators were almost set for the Mainnet. But this would not happen without the final Testnet process. And what is this stage?

Georli Is Next

Before the final meetup with the Shanghai upgrade, the developers would test the process at Georli. This stage confirms authority by testing the blockchain’s applications before the final Mainnet. So, once this is established as victorious on March 14 there would be no problem with the Shanghai upgrade.

It is noteworthy to mention that the Shanghai upgrade is a hard fork of Ethereum. It is also the first significant upgrade after the 2022 Merge, aimed at implementing the EIP-4895.

Finally…

Beyond the fast-approaching upgrade, Ethereum’s roadmap has in it the Surge, Verge, Purge, and Splurge. Some of these could happen before the year runs to a close. However, like the Merge, there is no confirmation that the event would have a positive effect on the ETH price. While protocols under the blockchain might, nothing is guaranteed. So, consider this article as informative with no connection to financial advice.

Cheers