Ethereum’s Shapella hard fork executed on mainnet

The Shapella hard fork has officially been executed on the Ethereum ( $2,268.00 ) Mainnet— meaning that Ethereum ( $2,268.00 ) validators can finally withdraw their staked Ether (ETH) from the Beacon Chain.

The long-awaited upgrade took effect at 10:27 PM UTC on April 12.

Through Ethereum ( $2,268.00 ) Investment Proposal EIP-4895, staked ETH was pushed from the Beacon Chain to the Ethereum ( $2,268.00 ) Virtual Machine (EVM) otherwise known as the execution layer, making withdrawals possible.

It is the most significant upgrade since The Merge on Sept. 15 and it moves Ethereum ( $2,268.00 ) one step closer towards a fully functional proof-of-stake system.

Ethereum ( $2,268.00 ) proof-of-stake chain has upgraded to Shapella. Withdrawal is now enabled

This closes the loop of the original beacon chain design. Validator can deposit -> withdrawal.

— terence.eth (@terencechain) April 12, 2023

The hard fork allows for partial and full withdrawals of staked ETH, which can theoretically unlock 18.1 million ETH when Shapella is forked, currently equating to over $34.8 billion.

However several mechanisms are in place to prevent a flood of the ETH supply from hitting the market, according to the Ethereum ( $2,268.00 ) Foundation.