EIP-4895 is an Ethereum Improvement Proposal that enables validators to withdraw their stake of 32 ETH from the staking contract on the Ethereum blockchain since the transition to Proof-of-Stake (PoS), as part of the Shanghai hard fork of the Shapella Upgrade. Validators were required to deposit a minimum of 32 ETH to participate during the Merge on September 15, 2022, which can be withdrawn when the EIP-4895 is executed. ^[1]

Overview

On March 10th, 2022, EIP-4895 was created to allow validators to withdraw their staked ETH; which is currently over 14% of all ETH, worth approximately $27 billion USD; which is a significant change for the Ethereum blockchain. The staking process occurred on the Beacon Chain, while the withdrawal of staked ETH would take place on the current Ethereum Mainnet. EIP-4895 would allow validators to push withdrawals from the Beacon Chain to the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). ^[2][4]

The execution of EIP-4895 was targeted for the Shapella upgrade, which combines Shanghai and Capella upgrades. The Shapella upgrade, which took place in April 2023, had a high priority for EIP-4895 integration. With the execution of EIP-4895 scheduled for April 2023, validators will be able to withdraw their staked ETH, providing them with greater flexibility in managing their funds. This change is expected to have a significant impact on the Ethereum network, as it frees up a substantial amount of ETH that was previously locked up in staking contracts. ^[3]

Authors

• Alex Stokes
• Danny Ryan

^[3]