• Ethereum developers have started to refer to the upcoming hard fork as “Shapella”.
• The upgrade is composed of two parts: the Shanghai upgrade on the execution side, and the Capella upgrade on the consensus side.
• By merging these two names together, developers are referring to this entire process as “Shapella”.
What is Shapella?
Ethereum developers have started to refer to their upcoming hard fork – a key upgrade – as “Shapella”. This name is derived from combining the Shanghai upgrade (execution layer) and Capella upgrade (consensus layer), which together form an important part of the Ethereum protocol.
The Merge
To understand why these upgrades are so important, one must first understand Ethereum’s old proof-of-work blockchain known as the execution (application) layer. When Ethereum began its proof-of-stake (PoS) chain, also known as the consensus layer, developers originally planned on transitioning over to just that one chain. However, it was determined that merging both chains together would be simpler for developers – hence “the Merge”.
Shanghai and Capella Upgrades
Now that both layers have been merged together, they will undergo separate upgrades. The execution layer will go through what is referred to as Shanghai while the consensus layer will experience what is known as Capella – thus forming Shapella when combined into one name.
When Will Shapella Occur?
The Shapella hard fork is expected by next month, but an exact date has not yet been set by Ethereum developers.
Conclusion
The upcoming Shapella hard fork is a combination of two upgrades happening simultaneously on different layers of Ethereum’s protocol: Shanghai on the execution side and Capella on the consensus side. By merging these two names together, developers are now referring to this entire process collectively as Shapella.