Kategorie: Ethereum News

Key Takeaways

• 15% of the ETH supply had been locked until the Shanghai upgrade completed Thursday
• There was no extra selling pressure, however, with ETH leading the crypto market, up 4.6% today
• ETH has broken through the $2,000 barrier for the first time since May 2022

Ethereum stakers woke up for the first time in a long, long time this morning with the ability to…sell their ETH. 

The Shanghai upgrade has been completed, meaning all the staked Ether – some of which has been staked since 2020, when ETH was below $400 per token – is now available for sale. 

A common discourse in the run-up to the event was whether increased sell pressure would flood the market. I analysed this myself last month, with the market long discussing what the unprecedented event would do. 

But around 16 hours in – the upgrade completed at 22:42 UTC time Thursday – ETH has provided an emphatic answer, not only resisting downward pressure, but leading the crypto market, up 4.6% since the upgrade. 

 

Nothing spectacular, but on what amounts to a pretty flat day for the market across the board, a 4.6% jump since the upgrade is interesting. 

Of course, not all Ether was completely locked up. Liquid staking derivatives were widely available, allowing stakers to receive tokens in return for their staked ETH which could then be traded as proxies, providing them liquidity – with the promise that the derivative tokens could be redeemed 1:1 once the upgrade went live. 

This fact, in addition to the fact that the upgrade has long been priced in, ultimately combined to assuage any pressure on the price. 

How much Ether was in the staking contract?

Nonetheless, having full liquidity again does make a difference, and there had been musings in the market as to what this could do for the price. As the upgrade went live, there was a chunky 18.2 million ETH locked up – priced in or not, that is a massive portion. 

Comparing to the overall supply, that means over 15% of the supply was locked up…and then suddenly available for direct sale. 

Particularly interesting is the hold period here. The earliest stakers locked up their ETH in late 2020, when ETH traded below $400. They then watched it rise close to $5,000 per token before collapsing down below $1,000. And all this while, it was locked. 

That is a rollercoaster ride with many highs and lows in between. Although, many argued that those early stakers were in it for the tech, less interested in the price. Then again, we are all humans at the end of the day, aren’t we?

Ether breaks $2,000

Not only has fear of sell pressure proved unfounded for now – although that could still change – but Ethereum breached the $2,000 mark for the first time since May 2022. That was the month that the crypto industry was hurled into the lurch, as LUNA death spiralled to zero, taking a massive chunk of the ecosystem with it. 

It’s probably not a reach to say that the Shanghai upgrade has come at a good time. Had the upgrade gone live last year, as panic and fear was extreme and prices were collapsing across the board, it could have been a different story.

Can you imagine if 15% of the ETH supply suddenly went live one week after FTX collapsed?

Instead, the upgrade came amid a buoyant period for crypto as a whole. Bitcoin is above $30,000 for the first time since last June, now up 83% on the year. Ether itself has banked inventors a 66% return year-to-date. 

Obviously, these gains come from decimated levels, and Ethereum remains quite a nasty 60% off its all-time high of November 2021, when it hit $4,891, just running out of steam before the $5,000 barrier. 

It may be a while before ETH gets back there – if it ever does, who is to say in the crypto market? – but whatever the price effects, the Shanghai upgrade is a vital step for the ecosystem as a whole. 

It had been delayed many times – originally meant to be part of the Merge, formerly known as ETH 2.0, which itself was pushed out multiple times. But now it is in the rearview window, and ETH can continue to develop. Fundamentally, the upgrade has been a success, just like the Merge was last September. 

Crypto prices depend on far more than that, however – and are far from science – and the macro environment remains challenging, even if interest rate hikes may be coming to an end, with the overall picture brighter than it was a few months ago. 

This is still a difficult time. But, for today at least, there is reason to smile for ETH investors. 

The post Ethereum breaks $2,000 as Shanghai upgrade completes, leads crypto market appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Ethereum Classic price has made a bullish break-out as cryptocurrencies rally. 

• It jumped after the latest American inflation data showed that prices were falling. 

• Some investors believe that Ethereum investors will transition to Ethereum Classic after the Shapella upgrade. 

Ethereum Classic (ETC) price continued rising on Thursday as the recent cryptocurrency rally regained steam. The coin jumped to a high of $22.47, the highest level since March 18 of this year. The coin has jumped by more than 53% from the lowest level this year. 

Ethereum Shapella upgrade 

There are three main catalysts moving the ETC price this week. First, there is the ongoing Bitcoin price rally that we wrote about here. This rally saw the coin jump above the important resistance level at $30,000 for the first time since June last year. It has now jumped by more than 80% this year, making it a better performer than Tesla, stocks, and gold. Cryptocurrencies like Ethereum Classic tends to have a close correlation with Bitcoin. 

Second, Ethereum Classic price reacted to the latest American consumer inflation data published on Wednesday. The data showed that the headline consumer price index (CPI) dropped to 5.0% in March, the lowest level since 2021. Core inflation also dropped on a month-on-mom basis. Therefore, there is a likelihood that the Federal Reserve will start pivoting soon. This pivot will involve pausing rate increases and leaving them unchanged for a while. 

Finally, Ethereum Classic reacted to Wednesday’s Shapella upgrade of Ethereum. That upgrade activation made it possible for Ethereum stakers to be able to withdraw their tokens. Data by Staking Rewards shows that the volume of staked Ethereum stands at over $37 billion. 

The move was seen as being positive for Ethereum Classic because of its controversy and regulatory concerns. The Securities and Exchange Commission has hinted that it views all tokens with a staking element as securities. Therefore, analysts believe that many investors will now move to Ethereum Classic, which is the equivalent of the pre-merge Ethereum. However, in reality, it is unclear whether this transition will happen. 

Ethereum Classic price analysis 

The daily chart shows that the ETC price has been in a strong bullish trend in the past few weeks. And this week, the coin managed to move above the important resistance level at $21.35, where it struggled to move above earlier this month. 

The coin has also jumped above the 25-day and 50-day moving averages while oscillators have continued rising. Therefore, there is a likelihood that the coin will continue rising as buyers target the next key resistance level at $24.92, which is about 12% above the current level. 

How to buy Ethereum Classic 

eToro

eToro is a global social investment brokerage company which offers over 75 cryptocurrencies to invest in. It offers crypto trading commission-free and users on the platform have the option to manually invest or socially invest. eToro even has a unique CopyTrader system which allows users to automatically copy the trades of popular investors.

Buy ETC with eToro today Disclaimer

Binance

Binance is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. It is better suited to more experienced investors and it offers a large number of cryptocurrencies to choose from, at over 600. Binance is also known for having low trading fees and a multiple of trading options that its users can benefit from, such as; peer-to-peer trading, margin trading and spot trading.

Buy ETC with Binance today

The post Here’s why Ethereum Classic (ETC) price could jump by at least 12% appeared first on CoinJournal.

Key takeaways

• The Ethereum network completed the Shanghai upgrade on Wednesday, allowing users to unstake their ETH coins.

• ETH is up by more than 6% in the last 24 hours and is now trading close to the $2k level for the first time this year.

• Ether is outperforming the other major cryptocurrencies.

Ethereum network completes the Shanghai upgrade

The Ethereum network has completed its long-awaited Shanghai upgrade, ushering in an era of staking withdrawals on the blockchain. 

The Shanghai hard fork was completed at 22:27 UTC and finalised at about 22:42 UTC. The Ethereum community considers the upgrade a huge milestone as it completes Ethereum’s migration to a proof-of-stake protocol. 

Thanks to the Shanghai upgrade, Ethereum users can now unstake their ETH coins on the blockchain. During the Shapella Mainnet Watch Party hosted by Ethereum Cat Herders, Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of the Ethereum blockchain, revealed that the hardest and fastest parts of the Ethereum protocol’s transition are basically over. 

He added that the Ethereum network will now be focusing on scaling (enabling faster transactions) following this upgrade. Buterin stated that;

“If we don’t fix scaling before the next bull run, we know people are going to be stuck paying $500 transactions. If, on the other hand, we don’t have Verkle Trees before the next bull run, well, things might suck, but you know, it’s a much smaller problem than, you know, $500 transactions, right?”

Ether closes in on the $2k psychological level

Ether, the native coin of the Ethereum network, has been rallying following the Shanghai upgrade. ETH is up by more than 6% in the last 24 hours and is closing in on the $2k level.

At press time, the price of Ethereum stands at $1,983, the highest it has reached since August 2022. The technical indicators show that ETH could rally higher in the near term.

The MACD line is within the positive region, indicating that the bulls are currently in charge of the Ethereum market. The RSI of 74 also shows that Ether could enter the oversold region in the near term.

If the bullish trend continues, ETH could break past the $2,031 resistance level over the next few hours. In the event of an extended rally, ETH could trade above the $2,160 level for the first time since May 2022.

Where to buy Ethereum now

eToro

eToro is a global social investment brokerage company which offers over 75 cryptocurrencies to invest in. It offers crypto trading commission-free and users on the platform have the option to manually invest or socially invest. eToro even has a unique CopyTrader system which allows users to automatically copy the trades of popular investors.

Buy ETH with eToro today Disclaimer

Bitstamp

Bitstamp is a leading cryptocurrency exchange which offers trading in fiat currencies or popular cryptocurrencies. Bitstamp is a fully regulated company which offers users an intuitive interface, a high degree of security for your digital assets, excellent customer support and multiple withdrawal methods.

Buy ETH with Bitstamp today

The post Ether price closes in on $2k following the Shanghai upgrade appeared first on CoinJournal.