What Ethereum Developers Are Calling the Upcoming Hard Fork

Ethereum Developers Coin the Term “Shapella” to Refer to Upcoming Upgrade in Shanghai

The Ethereum blockchain is set to undergo a major upgrade, known as a hard fork, which developers have started referring to as “Shapella”. This new moniker has caused some confusion as traders and analysts have been calling the hard fork “Shanghai”, which is technically correct, but not entirely accurate.

To understand the new term, it’s important to know that the Ethereum protocol is composed of two layers: the execution layer and the consensus layer. The “Shanghai” upgrade will only affect the execution layer, while on the consensus layer, it’s known as “Capella”. Developers have combined the two names, calling the entire upgrade “Shapella”.

To provide more context, prior to the last upgrade called “The Merge”, Ethereum’s old proof-of-work blockchain was referred to as the execution layer, while the proof-of-stake chain was the consensus layer. However, it was too complex to transition to just the PoS chain, so the two were merged together.

The execution layer is where all smart contracts and protocol rules reside, while the consensus layer ensures all validators are adhering to those rules. While the Ethereum Foundation has not officially rebranded the upgrade to “Shapella”, developers have adopted the name and it has been used on social media platforms like Twitter. Recently, developers shared that “Shapella” went live on Sepolia, indicating the upgrade’s progress.

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