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The Shanghai upgrade, more accurately called "Shapella," marks the completion of Ethereums full transition to a proof-of-stake (PoS) network, and will enable staked ETH withdrawals.

Once the date is voted on by developers and confirmed via GitHub, slot 6209536, occurring on or around April 12, will be set in stone for the Shanghai upgrade. This means that Shanghai will be slightly delayed from the developers initial target for this month.

When Ethereum switched to a PoS consensus mechanism in September in an event known as the Merge, the network began using validators instead of miners. Validators had to stake 32 ETH in order to approve or add blocks to the blockchain.

Before validators joined Ethereums PoS blockchain, they were made aware that their staked ETH and any rewards would remain locked up until Shanghai. Some validators have had their funds locked up since December 2020, when Ethereums PoS Beacon Chain went live.

Now, those validators will be able to decide after April 12 what they want to do with their stake.

Since the Merge, Ethereum developers have run numerous tests in order to ensure that staked ETH withdrawals would function properly. All three tests on Ethereums testnets ran smoothly, though the last testnet hard fork on Goerli experienced low participation rates because validator nodes didn't upgrade in time.

While staked ETH withdrawals were able to be processed on the testnet, blocks weren't completed until about 90 minutes after the fork went live.

Ben Edgington, product lead of Teku, an Ethereum client, told CoinDesk that despite the reduced participation, we could see that all client types were producing valid blocks, and that participation increased over time. This reassured us that nothing was fundamentally wrong, just late upgraders.

Edgington added that losing finality for 90 minutes is inconvenient, but not critical for most applications or users of Ethereum.

Ethereum developers aren't worried that this will happen on the mainnet too. It's quite typical for testnet upgrades to be a little bumpy, but people are very diligent about maintaining their mainnet staking infrastructure, Edgington said.

UPDATE: March 16, 2023, 14:29 UTC: Adds target epoch number.

CORRECTION: March 16, 2023, 19:04 UTC: Shanghai's target is slot 6209536, not epoch 6209536.

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Ethereums Shanghai Hard Fork Now Has Official Target Date - CoinDesk

The crypto winter has crushed valuations for tokens and companies that operate trading exchanges. Ethereum's (ETH -2.12%) price has fallen roughly 65% from it's record high set in November 2021. Meanwhile, leading exchange-services provider Coinbase Global(COIN 10.62%) has seen its valuation plummet 81% from its peak.

Would investors be better off putting their money behind the leading Layer-1 blockchain services provider's ether token or buying Coinbase stock based on today's pricing levels? Read on to see why two Motley Fool contributors have differing takes on which looks like the better investment right now.

Image source: Getty Images.

Keith Noonan: Launched in 2015, Ethereum has proved its staying power and has established itself as the clear leader in Layer-1 blockchain services. The company's network has become the go-to destination for those looking to build, deploy, and scale blockchain-based applications, and this foundation provides a key fundamental support for the value of the Ether token.

If Ethereum continues to attract new projects and facilitate their growth, that should create demand for the ether token and be a price catalyst.

While Coinbase might appear to have lower risk based on the fact that its core business is providing trading and holding services for the broader crypto ecosystem, I actually see this as a source of greater risk.

Coinbase's platform allows users to easily buy and sell an incredibly wide range of cryptocurrencies, but I think that most of these coins will probably trend toward zero on the valuation scale, and it seems almost inevitable that even some relatively high-profile projects will eventually blow up in big scandals.

Coinbase has already had some scandals of its own -- including security breaches, insider trading, and allegations of insufficient safeguards against money laundering.

The crypto industry is still very much in its infancy, and the low barriers to launching and promoting a token mean that investors should take a highly selective approach to their investments in this sector.

I view the vast majority of crypto projects to be of very low quality, so the prospect of investing in a business whose core services revolve around crypto trading and wallet services does not seem appealing. By comparison, Ethereum has already proved itself to be a much higher-quality project.

In general, I think that investors should only focus on crypto projects and related companies with proven track records. Ethereum fits the bill, has proved to be relatively scandal free, and can stand through the rise and fall of other projects and businesses in the crypto industry.

Parkev Tatevosian: Coinbase stock has been hammered in recent quarters due to the decrease in popularity of cryptocurrencies as an asset class. In the early stages of the pandemic, the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies reached $3 trillion. That figure has dropped to about $1 trillion.

Coinbase, a platform that lets users buy, hold, and sell digital currencies, attracted millions of new customers during the crypto frenzy. Admittedly, many of those folks will leave if the popularity and prices of crypto assets don't recover. Still, Coinbase stock can be lucrative for investors as long as it can retain a meaningful portion of those early customers.

The explosive growth peaked in 2021, when Coinbase's revenue reached $7.8 billion and operating income hit $3 billion. That showed investors the magnitude of profits it could generate at scale. It will need to lower expenses to match a smaller scale if the industry doesn't rebound to pandemic highs.

COIN P/S ratio data by YCharts. P/S = price to sales.

There is a risk that Coinbase might not be profitable on a smaller scale. However, the stock is trading at a price-to-sales ratio of 4.5, which is significantly below the ratio of more than 18 at its peak. The stock might come with high risk, but it also has plenty of upside for investors with a high risk tolerance.

For investors seeking broad-based exposure to the crypto space, investing in both Ethereum and Coinbase could be the right move. Otherwise, it makes sense to focus on their differing characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses and then determine which potential investment vehicle is better aligned with the direction you see the crypto space heading in.

If you're looking to take a narrower approach to investing in crypto and think that Ethereum will continue to be a top provider of network services, then it's probably the better buy. On the other hand, if you're positioning for an overall rebound in crypto valuations and are seeking investment vehicles that have a diversified exposure to the broader market, Coinbase stock is likely the better fit for your investment priorities.

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Better Buy: Coinbase vs. Ethereum - The Motley Fool

Ethereum Classic (ETC) just concluded a bullish week but its price action is not the only aspect that achieved a pivot. Its total value locked also registered some upside after previously experiencing outflows.

Is your portfolio green? Check out the Ethereum Classic Profit Calculator

ETC had a $363.982 TVL, at the time of writing, which represented a significant improvement and pivot from its $279,884 low in February.

But despite this noteworthy improvement, Ethereum Classics TVL was immensely dwarfed by Ethreums impressive $28.93 billion TVL. ETCs anemic TVL is a rough indicator of just how far behind the network is in the DeFi race.

A major reason for Ethereum Classics TVL shortfall is that it has not been very successful in attracting DeFi projects to run on its network.

Nevertheless, there is one particular protocol running on the Ethereum Classic network that seeks to change that. The HebeSwap decentralized exchange currently accounts for most of Ethereum Classics TVL.

The amount of TVL that HebeSwap contributed to Ethereum Classic peaked at $236,928 after surging by 42.87% in the last 7 days.

It had the highest gains out of the DeFi projects currently running on the Ethereum Classic network.

The DEX recently expressed its commitment to improving ETCs ecosystem through the latest addition, a farm APY pool.

ETC bounced back by as much as 25% from its weekly low to its weekly high. Its 40% gain from its current monthly low is even more impressive. It traded at $21.12 at press time.

Can ETC sustain the rally for the next few days? Its latest upside has so far pushed above the 50% RSI level which means relative strength is now leaning in favor of the bulls. Multiple on-chain metrics also support this observation.

How many are 1,10,100 ETCs worth today?

The weighted sentiment metrics remained high after the rally it secured in the last 7 days. In other words, investors are still optimistic about ETCs bullish prospects.

Investors should also note that the price volatility metric ended last week with a pivot. It remains to be seen whether this volatility surge will carry the momentum forward for the next few days.

More good news from the NFT side of things. Ethereum Classics total NFT trades volume registered a surge in the last few days. A confirmation that the demand for NFTs on the network was also enjoying improved health.

Although these are favorable observations, Ethereum Classics development activity demonstrated signs of weakness during the weekend.

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Ethereum Classics TVL recovers and heres the key driving factor - AMBCrypto News

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The crypto market is always full of surprises, but one thing is for sure - Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) continue to be the strongest cryptocurrencies in the market. These two digital assets have weathered the ups and downs of the market and continue to maintain their position as market leaders.

However, a new contender is on the rise - RenQ Finance (RENQ). With its advanced AI technology and secure blockchain platform, RenQ Finance is positioning itself as a strong player in the market. As the next bull run approaches, investors are starting to take notice of RenQ Finance and its potential for growth and profits.

As the world's first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (BTC) has stood the test of time and remains the most valuable cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Despite being around for over a decade, Bitcoin continues to make headlines and attract new investors.

One of the reasons why Bitcoin is so strong is due to its limited supply. Only 21 million Bitcoins will ever be created, and with a current circulating supply of 19.3 million, this scarcity has led to increased demand and a price rise. Additionally, Bitcoin has a robust infrastructure and a strong network effect, making it widely accepted as a means of payment and a store of value.

Crypto experts predict that 2023 could be a crucial year for the industry, and based on the first few weeks of January, the markets are showing signs of recovery and potential for new all-time highs. Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, has already experienced a 23% growth since January 7, which could indicate the start of a bull run for the entire market.

As the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Ethereum (ETH) has a strong following and a wide range of use cases. Ethereum's primary purpose is to serve as a platform for decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts.

One of the reasons why Ethereum is so strong is due to its vast ecosystem of developers and dApps. The Ethereum network has the most significant number of developers working on decentralized applications, making it the go-to platform for developers looking to create decentralized apps.

In addition to its large developer community, Ethereum is also highly scalable, making it capable of processing a large number of transactions per second. This scalability is crucial for the growth of decentralized finance (DeFi) and other blockchain-based applications.

Furthermore, Ethereum is continuously evolving, with updates such as ETH 2.0 promising to address current scalability issues and improve transaction speed and efficiency.

RenQ Finance (RENQ) is a relatively new cryptocurrency that combines the power of blockchain with artificial intelligence (AI). RenQ Finance is designed to enable decentralized finance (DeFi) applications to run on the RenQ network, using machine learning algorithms to analyze market trends and make investment decisions.

One of the reasons why RenQ Finance is so strong is due to its unique approach to DeFi. The RenQ network is highly scalable and capable of processing millions of transactions per second, making it ideal for DeFi applications that require quick and efficient data processing. Additionally, RenQ Finance has gained significant attention from investors looking for new investment opportunities in the DeFi space.

RenQ Finance's strong position in the cryptocurrency market has been reinforced by its recent security audit conducted by CertiK, a renowned blockchain security company. The audit confirmed the absence of any critical vulnerabilities or issues, which has increased the confidence of investors and traders in RenQ Finance. This has made RenQ Finance an even more attractive cryptocurrency for the next bull run. Along with this, RenQ Finance has also performed exceptionally well in its presale, with an expected increase of up to 8000% in a short period.

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Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and RenQ Finance (RENQ) are the ... - Cryptonews

Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, recently took to his Twitter account to share his thoughts on the use of multi-sig and social recovery wallets.

In his post, Buterin outlined the benefits and drawbacks of each type of wallet and offered suggestions on how to choose the right guardians for them.

According to Buterin, he personally uses a multisig wallet to store most of his funds, and the Ethereum Foundation also uses this type of wallet.

He believes that social recovery wallets will be ideal for hot wallets, which store small portions of funds for daily use, while multi-sig wallets will be best for cold wallets, which hold long-term savings.

In a related post on Reddit, Buterin expanded on his thoughts about choosing guardians for multisig and social recovery wallets. He emphasized the importance of selecting guardians who are reliable, trustworthy, and unlikely to collude to steal your money.

He also suggested minimizing correlations between guardians and ensuring they ask a security question before approving any operation.

Buterin further explained that it is acceptable to have some of your own devices act as guardians, but having too many is not recommended. Having at least one guardian as a wallet on your device is natural, but having more than one increases the risk of centralizing power.

Therefore, its important to have enough guardians controlled by others so that if you are absent, there are still enough guardians to retrieve your funds.

Although multisig wallets are secure, Buterin believes that social recovery wallets are more convenient, especially with the emergence of ERC-4337 account abstraction and user-friendly wallets such as Soul Wallet.

Social recovery wallets require a single key for transaction signing, but if that key is lost, a group of keys held by other individuals can be used to restore access to your funds.

Nevertheless, Ethereum co-founder believes that self-custody is important, and social recovery and multisig wallets are a great way to achieve it. While multisig wallets are a safe way to store funds, social recovery wallets are much easier to use and ideal for hot wallets.

Choosing the right guardians for your wallets is crucial, and Buterin suggests minimizing correlations between your guardians and ensuring that they ask a security question before approving an operation.

Related Reading | Ethereum: Playboy Reports Loss Of Nearly $5M On NFT Earnings

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Ethereum Co-Founder's Take On Multi-Sig & Social Recovery Wallets - TronWeekly