Ethereum developers to open public testing of Shanghai-Capella upgrade on Feb. 7

Quick Take

  • Ethereum will activate the Zhejiang public test network on Feb. 7 in preparation for the Shanghai-Capella upgrade.
  • Once activated next week, the Zhejiang testnet will be open to the public for testing. 
  • After Zhejiang, Ethereum developers will then move on to other public testnets, including Sepolia and Goerli.

The Ethereum network is set to activate the Zhejiang public test network on Feb. 7, as the platform prepares for the Shanghai-Capella upgrade in March. Zhejiang is currently in a preview phase and will be upgraded once more in the coming days for public use.

Shanghai-Capella, also referred to as Shapella, is an upgrade aimed at enabling ether (ETH) withdrawals from network validators — a feature that is currently unavailable. Shanghai will upgrade the execution layer of Ethereum, while Capella will upgrade the consensus layer of the blockchain. To reach the final upgrade in March, developers have planned multiple phases of public testing, beginning with Zhejiang. 

Ethereum DevOps and client teams are working to resolve any technical issues before the Zhejiang activation, according to Tim Beiko from the Ethereum Foundation. Once activated next week, Zhejiang will be open to the public for testing. Users will have the opportunity to run validator nodes and test unstaking of ETH with validators.

After Zhejiang, the Ethereum network team will then move on to other public testnets, including Sepolia in February and Goerli in early March. Goerli will be the final dress rehearsal before mainnet Shanghai-Capella launch by end of March assuming everything goes as planned, Beiko added.

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About Author

Vishal Chawla is The Block’s crypto ecosystems editor and has spent over six years covering tech protocols, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and cloud computing. Vishal likes to delve deep into blockchain intricacies to ensure readers are well-informed about the continuously evolving crypto landscape. He is also a staunch advocate for rigorous security practices in the space. Before joining The Block, Vishal held positions at IDG ComputerWorld, CIO, and Crypto Briefing. He can be reached on Twitter at @vishal4c and via email at [email protected]

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