Ethereum’s long-awaited Shanghai Upgrade is one step closer to completion with the successful replication of withdrawals of staked ether (ETH) on the Sepolia test network.
This marks the second testnet to simulate the withdrawals, following the earlier upgrade on Zhejiang earlier this month.
The Shanghai Upgrade is set to finalize Ethereum’s transition to a fully functional proof-of-stake network, allowing validators to withdraw rewards earned from adding or approving blocks to the blockchain. With the recent success of Sepolia, developers are gearing up for the final test on Ethereum’s Goerli testnet.
Testnets like Sepolia and Zhejiang replicate the main Ethereum blockchain and provide a low-stakes environment for developers to test changes to their applications.
Unlike Zhejiang, the Sepolia upgrade was conducted on a closed testnet, with only Ethereum core developers running the validators.
While Sepolia may be the smallest of the three testnets in terms of the number of validators, its successful simulation of withdrawals is a crucial step towards the Shanghai Upgrade.
The Goerli test, scheduled in the coming weeks, will be the most anticipated as it closely mimics the main Ethereum blockchain’s activity.
If test upgrades continue to occur three weeks apart, the next upgrade on Goerli could take place around March 21, potentially delaying the mainnet Shanghai upgrade from its initial target of March. Nonetheless, developers remain optimistic as Ethereum inches closer to completing its much-anticipated upgrade.
