In Brief:
- Ethereum’s Shanghai upgrade will enable the withdrawal of staked ETH
- The Goerli testnet successfully launched and finalized
- Mainnet launch is expected next month
Ethereum’s Shanghai upgrade, which made it possible to withdraw ETH that had been staked (stETH), was the last step before its much-anticipated April launch. The network’s core developers have confirmed that the Goerli testnet, essentially a comprehensive dress rehearsal of Shanghai, launched late Tuesday and was finalized roughly 90 minutes later.
Several core developers of Ethereum say that some validators running older versions of clients caused a short delay. Those validators were swiftly brought on board, though, allowing the testnet to successfully resolve. There were no other issues of note with the testnet launch or its functions.
This successful test run brings Ethereum one step closer to enabling staked ETH withdrawals.
What is stETH?
Staked ether (stETH) is a cryptocurrency token that aims to represent an Ethereum token that is “staked” or deposited to support blockchain operations. The token is designed on Lido, a decentralized finance protocol. Staking is the act of depositing 32 ETH to activate validator software. As a validator, you’ll be responsible for storing data, processing transactions, and adding new blocks to the blockchain. This will keep Ethereum secure for everyone and earn stakers new ETH in the process.
Staked ether (stETH) was introduced in 2020 in anticipation of Ethereum’s shift to the proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. It is designed to function as a liquidity token, where you can deposit your ETH into a smart contract on the Lido blockchain and receive an equal amount of stETH that can be traded, exchanged, borrowed against, or used for any other liquidity purposes.
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