On April 12 at 22:27 UTC, a massive upgrade took place on the Ethereum network.
There were even two updates. The Shanghai update suite affects the Ethereum “execution layer,” the part of the network that handles smart contracts and protocol rules.
The second update, dubbed Capella, applies to Ethereum’s “consensus layer,” the part of the network that makes Ethereum validators comply with the rules set at the execution layer.
Both updates took place at the same time - so sometimes they are referred to by the single name - Shapella.
It allows users to withdraw their ETH from the Beacon Chain deposit contract. Yes, yes, the same validator. Let me remind you that the option to withdraw coins from staking has not been available since the launch of the zero phase of the second version of the system as far back as 2020.
And the smart contract in Beacon Chain allowed to freeze 32 ETH and become a validator engaged in confirming transactions and checking the relevance of the network state in exchange for a reward in the form of the ether itself. As you might guess, these users replaced their usual miners in September 2022, after the network switched to PoS - the most grandiose «Merge».
It was after the implementation of EIP*-4895 that all staked coins could be withdrawn.
*EIP - Ethereum Improvement Proposals
There are two ways to withdraw ethers:
- Partially - to withdraw the coins earned on staking, but at the same time leaving the "validator" 32 pieces.
- Completely - the withdrawal of all coins and the loss of the "validator" status.
What other EIPs are included in the update:
- EIP-3855 (PUSH0 Instruction) - improves the speed of transactions, contains a new algorithm for the EVM **, which helps to reduce the size of smart contracts and optimize the contract code.
- EIP-3860 (Limit and meter initcode) optimizes transaction fees and also fixes network vulnerabilities to DoS attacks.
- EIP-3651 (Warm Coinbase) - reduces block generation costs, in particular, improves Ethereum interactions with the cryptocurrency exchange and Coinbase wallet ***, which should reduce the gas consumption of Coinbase protocols when paying with ERC20 tokens.
**EVM - virtual computing environment, a distributed computer responsible for executing algorithms on the Ethereum network, called smart contracts.
***Coinbase is an American public company operating a cryptocurrency exchange platform. It is currently the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US in terms of trading volume.
ETH reacted cheerfully to the successful update, its price exceeded $2,100 and continues to grow.
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