Ethereum’s Shapella Upgrade is almost here. The upgrade will enable unstaking for the first time since ETH staking was introduced in December 2020.

The Ethereum Merge transitioned the network from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS) in September of 2022, making it more secure, energy-efficient, and better for implementing new scaling solutions. However, users were not yet able to unstake their ETH.

The upcoming Shanghai and Capella Upgrades, collectively known as Shapella, will enable unstaking plus will give users the flexibility to stake more without their ETH being indefinitely locked up.

There’s no need to unstake – Users can continue staking their ETH and earning up to 6.0% APY. No action is required and users' assets will be safe and secure during the upgrade.

According to Coinbase, if users would like to unstake, the exchange will begin taking unstaking requests about 24 hours after the upgrade completes. All unstaking requests are processed on-chain, and Coinbase will pass the unstaked funds and staking rewards to users once released by the Ethereum protocol.

Since the Ethereum protocol controls the unstaking process and Coinbase is simply the conduit, the exchange can’t share an exact waiting period when users request to unstake.

Coinbase anticipate that demand for unstaking will be high soon after the upgrade and it may take the protocol weeks to months process unstaking requests.

To learn more about Shanghai Upgrade, check these articles with Cointime：

What Is the Ethereum Shanghai Upgrade, and How Will It Affect Me?

Ethereum Shanghai Upgrade: Revving Up Staking Rewards

Ethereum Shanghai Hard Fork: Everything You Need to Know in 3 Minutes

Market Byte: Ethereum’s Shanghai Update & Liquid Staking Derivatives