Ethereum's Shanghai upgrade, also known as Shapella, will enable the first-ever withdrawals of staked ether (ETH) and complete the network's transition to a fully functional proof-of-stake network. The upgrade is expected to take place at around 6:30 p.m. ET (22:30 UTC). Ethereum developers say they're feeling confident the upgrade will go smoothly, and the Ethereum Foundation doubled its "bug bounty" program awards to $500,000 ahead of Shanghai to encourage individuals to report any vulnerabilities they could find. Crypto market analysts have weighed in on how ether might trade as Shanghai goes live, with some suggesting it will have limited if any impact on the market for ether.

(By Margaux Nijkerk)