Ethereum developers are gearing up for the launch of the highly-anticipated Shanghai-Capella, or Shapella, upgrade on the Goerli test network later today in a final dress rehearsal before the mainnet launch scheduled for April.
The upgrade will be triggered at epoch 162304 on Goerli, estimated to take place around 6:25 pm EST, developers said in a blog post from the Ethereum Foundation. After testing the upgrade on Goerli, they plan to deploy it on the mainnet next month if the test goes smoothly.
The main feature of the upgrade, Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 4895, aims to enable validator staking withdrawals on the main network. The feature was turned off during Ethereum's switch to a proof-of-stake consensus in September 2022 to ensure a safe transition.
Goerli will be the third and final testnet used by developers to test the Shapella upgrade. Prior to Goerli, the developers carried out multiple phases of public testing for it on the Sepolia and Zhejiang public testnets since February.
Besides the withdrawals, developers have also planned three additional improvements aimed at optimizing gas costs for certain activities with the Shapella upgrade.