Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, is set to undergo one of its most significant upgrades to date. Dubbed the "Shanghai" upgrade, this marks the completion of the Ethereum network's merge with a new proof-of-stake mechanism designed to reduce the environmental impact of mining. The new proof-of-stake method awards freshly minted ETH to those who "stake" or “lock up” their crypto in Ethereum smart contracts. The more ETH a blockchain validator stakes, the more likely they are to process a transaction, and the more newly issued ETH they earn as a reward.