Crypto’s Ethereum network finishes Shanghai software upgrade

THE Ethereum blockchain, the most important commercial highway in the digital-asset sector, successfully implemented a widely anticipated software upgrade.

The so-called Shanghai update enables investors to queue up to withdraw Ether coins that they had pledged to help operate the network in return for rewards, a process called staking.

Tim Beiko, who helps to coordinate the development of Ethereum, posted on Twitter on Wednesday (Apr 12) that the upgrade is now “official”.

The network revamp, also known as Shapella, is designed to let people exit an Ether staking investment.

About 1.2 million of Ether tokens — worth approximately US$2.3 billion at current prices — are expected to be withdrawn over the next five days, according to researcher Coin Metrics. Some US$36.7 billion of Ether is locked up for staking, data from Staking Rewards shows.

Markets steady

Investors were braced for crypto price swings around the upgrade but digital-asset markets were largely steady.

Ether, the largest token by market value after Bitcoin, edged up about 1 per cent to US$1,922 as of 7:45 pm in New York.

Smaller coins from applications that try to make it easier to harness Ether staking rewards, such as LDO and RPL, were little changed in the past hour, according to CoinGecko data.

The Ethereum blockchain in September last year transitioned to a proof-of-stake from a proof-of-work approach, a revamp called the Merge that slashed the network’s electricity consumption.

SEE ALSO

Crypto VC funding plunges by 80% in dire quarter for startups

Crypto hearings in Singapore throw up quirks, legal novelties

Proof-of-stake uses piles of Ether — placed in special so-called staking wallets — to help order transactions on the Ethereum network. BLOOMBERG