Ethereum developers have been aiming to launch the Shanghai Capella upgrade to the network's Goerli testnet by late March, but the latest consensus estimate is now March 14. This could push the eventual mainnet hard fork to the first or second week of April.

The upgrade will allow investors with staked ether to withdraw their funds, but the delay will give analysts more time to understand the potential impact on ether's price. Noelle Acheson, author of Crypto is Macro Now and former head of market insights at Genesis, said the delay is still ahead of the original schedule.

The All Core Devs call on Thursday flagged a couple of minor issues, but none are expected to adversely affect future deployments. Developers agreed to aim for epoch 162304, which should occur at roughly 6:00 pm ET on March 14. Consensus client software releases will be needed within the next five days to prepare for the upgrade test.

Project coordinator, Tim Beiko, said that mainnet deployment usually requires two weeks after the announcement. He believes the earliest the mainnet hard fork could be deployed is the first week of April. Other developers on the call indicated the second week of April was more likely.

Ethereum upgrades have frequently been planned and then delayed, as stakeholders involved in the process are generally happy to take a cautious approach rather than rush things. Noelle Acheson said, "All major upgrades are complicated undertakings, and the more testing, the better."

The Shanghai Capella upgrade is an important milestone for Ethereum, allowing investors to withdraw their staked ether. The delay will give analysts more time to understand the potential impact on ether's price, but Ethereum developers are still aiming for a successful deployment in the first or second week of April.