Ethereum Developers Target March 14 Date for Shanghai Upgrade on Goerli Testnet

Ethereum developers are targeting March 14 for the Goerli test network (testnet) to run through the Shanghai upgrade, the much-anticipated move to enable withdrawals of staked ether (ETH) from the blockchain.

The developers agreed on the targeted date Thursday during their biweekly call.

The test on Goerli is going to be highly watched, given that it is the largest public Ethereum testnet and the last chance for staking providers to make sure that staked ETH is withdrawable before Shanghai reaches the mainnet. (The Shanghai upgrade is alternately referred to as Shapella.)

All that will be left after the Goerli test is for Ethereum developers to set the date for mainnet.

Read more: What Is the Ethereum Blockchain’s Shanghai Hard Fork, and Why Does It Matter?

Earlier this week, the Sepolia testnet went through Shapella, and Ethereum developers told CoinDesk that everything ran smoothly.

During Thursday’s execution layer 156 meeting, Ethereum core developers showed a general consensus that Ethereum’s main blockchain would receive a Shapella upgrade three to four weeks after Goerli, which would mean that the staked ETH withdrawals would occur in April, a slight delay from the original timeline that Ethereum developers set for March.

Read more: Second Ethereum Testnet Successfully Simulates Shanghai Hard Fork