Goerli Shapella Announcement

The Goerli Shapella Upgrade: A Comprehensive Guide

The Ethereum community has been eagerly awaiting the Shapella network upgrade, which is scheduled to activate on the Goerli testnet at epoch 162304, on March 14, 2023, at 10:25:36 PM UTC. This upgrade marks a significant milestone in the Ethereum ecosystem, enabling validators to withdraw their stake from the Beacon Chain back to the execution layer. In this article, we will delve into the details of the Shapella upgrade, its implications, and what it means for the Ethereum community.

What is Shapella?

The Shapella upgrade combines changes to the execution layer (Shanghai) and consensus layer (Capella). The Engine API, which is used by the execution and consensus layers to communicate, is also modified in Shapella. This upgrade is expected to be the last testnet upgrade before scheduling Shapella for the Ethereum mainnet.

Shanghai

The Shanghai upgrade includes several changes to the execution layer, including:

• EIP-3651: Warm COINBASE
• EIP-3855: PUSH0 instruction
• EIP-3860: Limit and meter initcode
• EIP-4895: Beacon chain push withdrawals as operations
• EIP-6049: Deprecate SELFDESTRUCT

Note that EIP-6049 is only a deprecation warning. Client teams expect SELFDESTRUCT semantics to change in future network upgrades, but the opcode's behavior remains unchanged in Shanghai.

Capella

The Capella upgrade includes several changes to the consensus layer, including:

• Full and partial withdrawals for validators
• BLSToExecutionChange messages, which allow validators using a BLS_WITHDRAWAL_PREFIX to update it to an ETH1_ADDRESS_WITHDRAWAL_PREFIX, a prerequisite for withdrawals
• Independent state and block historical accumulators, replacing the original singular historical roots

Engine API

The Engine API is modified in Shapella to include a WithdrawalV1 structure and add it to various relevant structures and methods.

Client Releases

The following client releases support Shanghai & Capella on the Goerli testnet:

• Consensus Layer Goerli Releases:
  • Lighthouse v3.5.1
  • Lodestar v1.5.1
  • Nimbus v23.3.0
  • Prysm v3.2.2-rc.3
  • Teku v23.3.0
• Execution Layer Goerli Releases:
  • Besu v23.1.1
  • Erigon v2.40.1
  • go-ethereum (geth) v1.11.4
  • Nethermind v1.17.1

FAQ

As an Ethereum user or Ether holder, is there anything I need to do?

In short, no. If you use an exchange, digital wallet or hardware wallet you do not need to do anything unless you are informed to take additional steps by your exchange or wallet provider.

If you run your own Ethereum node or validator, see the next questions.

As a non-staking node operator, what do I need to do?

To be compatible with the Goerli upgrade, update your node to the version of your Ethereum client listed in the table above.

As a staker, what do I need to do?

To be compatible with the Goerli upgrade, update your node to the version of your Ethereum client listed in the table above. We recommend reading the Withdrawal FAQ. Additionally, you can test things on the ephemeral Zhejiang testnet prior to the upgrade activating on Goerli.

What happens if I am a staker or node operator and I do not participate in the upgrade?

If you are using an Ethereum client that is not updated to the latest version (listed above), your client will sync to the pre-fork blockchain once the upgrade occurs. You will be stuck on an incompatible chain following the old rules and will be unable to send Ether or operate on the post-Shapella Ethereum network.

As an application or tooling developer, what should I do?

Shapella does not introduce breaking changes for smart contracts. Application and tooling developers should review the upgrade changes to ensure any fixes are done, or to understand how to use newly introduced functionality.

Why "Shapella"?

Upgrades to the execution layer follow Devcon city names and those to the consensus layer follow star names. "Shapella" is the combination of Shanghai, the location of Devcon 2, and Capella, the brightest star in the northern constellation of Auriga.

Where Can I Monitor The Upgrade?

EthStaker are hosting a livestream during the Goerli upgrade. You can view it here.

Help - I Still Have Questions!

If you have more questions, you can join the Shapella Community Call on March 13 at 15:00 UTC. Client developers, researchers, and others will be there to answer questions.

The Shapella upgrade is a significant milestone in the Ethereum ecosystem, enabling validators to withdraw their stake from the Beacon Chain back to the execution layer. This upgrade is expected to be the last testnet upgrade before scheduling Shapella for the Ethereum mainnet. As an Ethereum user or Ether holder, it is essential to understand the implications of this upgrade and how it will affect your participation in the Ethereum network.

Source: https://blog.ethereum.org/en/2023/03/08/goerli-shapella-announcement