Ethereum Foundation Moves 1,000 ETH – Is The Top In?

The Ethereum Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports the Ethereum ecosystem, recently transferred a significant amount of ETH. Given what this transaction could imply, it has drawn the crypto community’s attention, which is already speculating about whether the market top might be in. 

Ethereum Foundation Moves 1,000 ETH

On-chain analytics platform SpotOnChain revealed in an X (formerly Twitter) post that the Ethereum Foundation transferred 1,000 ETH ($3 million) to a middle multi-signature wallet (0xbc9) on May 8. This development is more concerning as SpotOnChain revealed that the Foundation has made other transactions since the start of 2024.

According to the platform, the Ethereum Foundation has sold 1,766 ETH for 4.81 million DAI at an average price of $2,725 for each ETH. These transactions are said to have occurred in “several small batches via the same multi-signature wallet. Interestingly, SpotOnChain noted that these transactions often occur ahead of a price drop.  

It is worth mentioning that the Ethereum Foundation already has a reputation for selling at the top, suggesting that their selling ahead of a drop might not be a coincidence. In 2022, NewsBTC reported that Ethereum dropped by 40% after the Foundation sold off 20,000 ETH. Meanwhile, in 2021, ETH experienced a downtrend for months after the organization sold off 35,000 ETH. 

Ethereum

Journalist Colin Wu also revealed back then that Ethereum’s founder, Vitalik Buterin, had persuaded the foundation to “sell 70,000 ETH at the top of 2018 to support the work of developers.” Wu further claimed that the Foundation’s sell-off is a “normal operation, but it also means that the Foundation thought that bear market was coming.”

Therefore, from Wu’s revelation, one can deduce that the Ethereum Foundation could have an idea of when the market top is, which prompts them to always make these sales before ETH makes a significant decline

An ETH Decline May Already Be On The Horizon

A crypto analyst known as Shin Forex recently predicted that Ethereum could soon drop to as low as $2,500. The analyst explained that there has been a slowdown in liquidity flowing into the Ethereum ecosystem. This could affect ETH’s price since it suggests a lack of interest in the token among investors. 

From a technical analysis perspective, Shin Forex also revealed that the ETH/BTC pair has now broken below its support of 0.05. Ethereum is said to have experienced a significant crash when this happened in the market cycles in 2016 and 2019. As such, the analyst does not doubt that ETH will likely spiral down again, with the crypto token dropping to as low as $2,500. 

At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading at around $3,000, according to data from CoinMarketCap. 

Ethereum price chart from Tradingview.com (Crypto analyst)

Crypto Analyst Says Ethereum Price Will Drop To $2,500, Here’s Why

The Ethereum price has been closing mirroring the performance of Bitcoin recently and since the Bitcoin price has been on a downtrend, the ETH price has followed. However, Ethereum on its own seems to possess more bearish fundamentals compared to Bitcoin, leading crypto analysts to believe that the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap will fall further from here.

Ethereum Poised To Crash Further

A crypto analyst known as Shin Forex took to the TradingView website to share an interesting analysis of the Ethereum price. The analysis, which focused on the ETH/BTC chart, unveiled some concerning developments in the ETH price.

The analyst explained that during this time, the liquidity in Ethereum has been dwindling. Instead of flowing toward altcoins like ETH, it is instead flowing toward Bitcoin. This suggests growing disinterest in Ethereum from investors and as liquidity flows to Bitcoin, Ethereum has nothing propping it up at this time.

Furthermore, the crypto analyst explains that the ETH/BTC pair has now broken below its support of 0.05. Now, this drop below its support level is important given what has happened each time that it broke. Shin Forex points back to the last two market cycles, one in 2016 and one in 2019, of the ETH/BTC breaking below its support.

Both times that this has happened, a crash in the price has followed, before it can rally again. The crypto analyst does not expect this time to be any different and believes that ETH/BTC will fall below 0.04. If this happens, it will send Ethereum spiraling and the analyst has set a price target of around $2,500 for this.

Can ETH Price Survive The Crash?

In the short term, the Ethereum price doesn’t look to good, especially as the altcoin is currently trending downward inside its current channel, according to the crypto analyst. However, zooming out to the larger timeframe can help give an inkling of how the ETH price could perform after the crash.

Looking at Shin Forex’s chart of the last two times that a formation like this occurred, it has also set a precedent for money to flow back into Ethereum. In November 2016, the price had crashed but in a few months, there was a massive recovery as ETH/BTC rose to a new all-time high.

Ethereum

A similar thing happened the next time in 2019, with the crash coming ahead of a market rally, albeit a bit slower at this time. So, if this trend holds, then the ETH crash is inevitable. However, a recovery is expected that will likely kickstart the beginning of another massive rally.

For now, bears continue to dominate the Ethereum market and have successfully dragged the price down below $3,000. It is trading at. $2,975 at the time of this writing, with a small 0.36% decline in the last day, according to Coinmarketcap.

Ethereum price chart from Tradingview.com

Can Ethereum Reclaim $4,000? Fragile Fundamentals Threaten To Send ETH Crashing

Ethereum has put on a disappointing performance for its investors over the last few weeks, leading to concerns on whether the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap has lost its shine. The cryptocurrency continues to skirt around the $3,100 level, not making any significant breaks upward. This points to weak fundamentals that could trigger a price decline.

Ethereum Fails To Make Meaningful Moves

Markus Thielen, Head of Research at 10x Research, has pointed out some worrying developments with the Ethereum price. In a new report shared with NewsBTC, he explains that despite Ethereum remaining highly correlated to Bitcoin with an R-Square of 95%, it continues to perform poorly while the latter has made new all-time highs.

Thielen points back to ETH’s performance in the last bull market, which was closely tied to new sectors popping out of the network, such as decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). This caused demand to skyrocket, and in turn, the price followed as users gobbled up ETH for the high gas fee required to transact on the blockchain.

However, Ethereum has failed to maintain this momentum, which can be attributed to its inability to bring the upgrades that users needed in time. Thielen explains that the Dencun upgrade which helped solved the high gas fee issues had come three years too late because by 2024 when the upgrade arrived, users had moved on to Layer 2 networks. Also, during this time, other Layer 1 networks have seen a rise in users and Solana is one example of this.

Ethereum fees

The researcher further explained that the weak fundamentals of ETH are now not only affecting its price but has had a spillover effect to Bitcoin. “Ethereum’s weak fundamentals are becoming a roadblock for Bitcoin as they prevent broad fiat inflow into the crypto ecosystem,” Thielen stated.

Better To Short ETH

Thielen’s analysis of Ethereum also spreads to the drop in stablecoin usage on the network. Back in 2021, Ethereum had dominated stablecoin transactions such as USDT and USDC. However, it seems like, with other things, the high fees have driven users towards other networks. Blockchains such as Tron (TRX) are now dominating stablecoin transactions, leaving ETH in the dust.

Additionally, there is also the fact that ETH’s issuance is turning inflationary once again. After the London Hard Fork, also known as EIP-1559, was completed in 2021, the network saw its issuance turn deflationary for the first time as ETH burned quickly surpassed ETH being brought into circulation.

However, this has now changed in the past months as there have been more ETH issued than those burned, Thielen notes. To put this in perspective, a total of 74,000 ETH were issued compared to only 43,000 ETH burned. This inflation, coupled with the fact that staking rewards have now dropped to 3%, below the 5.1% offered by Treasury Yields, Ethereum has had a hard time maintaining bullish sentiment.

Given these developments, the researcher believes it is better to be bearish on Ethereum right now. “Right now, we would be more comfortable holding a short position in ETH than a long one in BTC as Ethereum’s fundamentals are fragile, which is not yet reflected in ETH prices,” Thielen concludes.

Ethereum price chart from Tradingview.com

Here’s How This Ethereum Whale Made $16 Million From A Single Trade

An Ethereum whale was recently revealed to have made $16 million from a single trade involving the second-largest crypto token by market cap. This whale’s story again highlights how conviction in an investment can be very rewarding in the crypto space. 

How This Ethereum Whale Made $16 Million In A Single Trade

On-chain analytics platform Lookonchain revealed in an X (formerly Twitter) post that the whale withdrew 12,906 ETH ($24.39 million) from Binance when the crypto token was still trading at $1,890 a year ago. With Ethereum currently trading at around $3,100, the whale’s ETH investment is now worth over $40 million, signifying a profit of about $16 million. 

Interestingly, his profits from this trade will likely be more than $16 million, as the trader deposited those tokens in the staking platform Lido when he withdrew them from Binance last year. That means he also earned significant staking rewards to go alongside his $16 million profit. 

On-chain data shows the whale recently withdrew 7,000 ETH ($21 million) from Lido back to Binance but has yet to offload these tokens. However, that is something to keep an eye on as the whale offloading those tokens could have a negative impact on Ethereum’s price. 

Tron’s founder, Justin Sun, looks to be another Ethereum whale that could make such significant returns on their ETH investment. Two wallets believed to belong to Sun are reported to have accumulated 295,757 ETH ($891M) at an average price of $3,014 since February 12. Since then, Sun has made some notable moves that could be profitable for him.

One such move is that the Tron founder recently deposited 120,000 eETH into Swell L2, a liquid restaking protocol. Although Sun claims that this move isn’t profit-motivated, he could still make huge profits from his venture, considering that restaking is one of the leading narratives at the moment. 

The Bull Run Presenting A Lot Of Opportunities

There have been a lot of reports highlighting how crypto investors and traders have been making life-changing, which suggests that the bull run is already in full force despite Bitcoin’s unimpressive price action lately. One opportunity that these traders have taken advantage of in this market cycle is meme coins

Before the bull run began, there was the belief that memes would be one of the leading narratives, and that has been the case. Bitcoinist recently reported two Solana meme coin traders turned $6,400 into $8 million. Meanwhile, Lookonchain revealed a Solana trader who turned 60 SOL ($8,673) into $1.26 million in 2 months, making a 144x return on his investment. 

Ethereum price chart from Tradingview.com

Ethereum Price Prediction: Crypto Expert Says ETH Is Yet To Bottom Against Bitcoin

A crypto analyst has predicted when Ethereum, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, will bottom against Bitcoin, however, under certain conditions. 

Analyst Predicts ETH/BTC Bottom Timeline

In a recent X (formerly Twitter) post, crypto analyst and founder of ITC Crypto, Benjamin Cowen, shared his forecast regarding the Ethereum to Bitcoin price ratio, projecting the timeline for when ETH/BTC would hit its lowest value in the current market cycle. 

Sharing insights on the market conditions, Cowen noted striking similarities between the present market’s dynamics and the one seen in 2019. He disclosed that ETH/BTC’s recent bounce mirrored the market’s behavior in 2019, two months before the Federal Reserve (FED) cut down rates. 

Cowen predicts that the ETH/BTC ratio will reach the lowest point in its price cycle when the FED makes a significant change in its monetary policy, often referred to as a “pivot.” The crypto expert expects this pivot to occur in a few months, ultimately suggesting that Ethereum would bottom against Bitcoin in the coming months. 

His analysis is also based on the assumption that macroeconomic conditions and the FED’s monetary policies can significantly impact the cryptocurrency market. Sharing a price chart of Ethereum against Bitcoin in another post, Cowen projected that the ETH/BTC ratio will head towards a range of 0.03 and 0.04 by summer. 

Commenting on his prediction of ETH/BTC’s bottom, a crypto community member expressed skepticism about the FED’s likelihood of cutting down rates while inflation was still high. Cowen responded that the absence of a rate cut further reinforced his beliefs that the ETH/BTC ratio has not yet reached its lowest point. He suggests that unless inflationary pressures are addressed, the ETH/BTC ratio may continue on its downward trend. 

Crypto Expert Calls Ethereum A Higher Risk Asset

In another post, Cowen referred to Ethereum as a higher-risk asset and Bitcoin as a lower-risk asset. The crypto analyst’s forecast on Ethereum against Bitcoin is underpinned by his interpretation of capital migration dynamics, suggesting that higher-risk assets typically depreciate relative to lower-risk assets.

He highlighted the uncertainty surrounding the future market movements of ETH/BTC following the halving event. Cowen predicted that if ETH/BTC witnesses a “relief rebound” after the halving, then he expects a rejection by the bull market support band, particularly in the context of weekly closing prices, estimated to range between $0.053 to $0.054. 

While acknowledging his past successes in predicting ETH/BTC price movements, Cowen highlighted that his predictions remain speculative, stating, “Just because I have been right so far about ETH/BTC does not mean I will continue being right.”

Ethereum price chart from Tradingview.com

Ethereum Flashes Bullish Signals, Can It Rally 50% From Here?

The second-largest crypto token by market cap, Ethereum (ETH), finally showed some form of life as it rose to $3,300 over the weekend. This move is believed to be the beginning of a trend reversal for the crypto token, which has several bullish signals on its chart. 

Ethereum Has A Bullish Chart

Crypto analyst Derek revealed in an X (formerly Twitter) post that the signals on Ethereum’s Moving Average Convergence/Divergence (MACD) indicator “seem to have ended the decline and changed upward direction.” He also highlighted the Ethereum Dominance chart, which has confirmed three bottoms and gave a strong rebound. 

The analyst explained that “leading a rebound after confirming the bottom three times means that further decline is unnecessary, and there is a high possibility that there is no intention to do so.” Interestingly, the analyst drew attention to the fact that Ethereum has experienced this price rebound without volume. 

EthereumEthereum price

This phenomenon occurs when individual investors are more active than institutional ones who are more cautious during this period. This instantly brings recent buys by Ethereum whales like Justin Sun into the picture, as they have contributed significantly to Ethereum’s recent resurgence. 

NewsBTC recently reported that a wallet believed to belong to the TRON founder recently bought $405 million worth of Ethereum. This wallet and another suspected to belong to Sun have accumulated $891 million worth of ETH since February 12. Meanwhile, NewsBTC also reported about another whale, who, despite losing $4.5 million worth of longing ETH, opened another long worth over $17 million. 

Other Bullish Signals For ETH

Crypto analyst Trader Tardigrade recently revealed that Ethereum experienced a decent breakout to a descending trendline on the daily chart of its Bitcoin pair. He added that Ethereum’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) also shows an associated breakout from a symmetrical triangle

The crypto analyst claimed that the value of the RSI is also now above 50, which is considered bullish for a crypto token. Based on these signals, Trader Tardigrade stated it is “time for Ethereum.” He also suggested that other altcoins will moon once Ethereum begins its parabolic move to the upside. 

Derek also predicted this, stating that the “rise of Ethereum will drive the explosive rise of altcoins that have been oppressed.” While sharing his bullish sentiment towards Ethereum, crypto analyst Crypto Prof echoed a similar sentiment, remarking that altcoins will “run even more” as Ethereum trades significantly higher in the coming months. 

Before now, Crypto expert Michaël van de Poppe predicted that the narrative would shift toward Ethereum post-halving and that the crypto token and other altcoins would bounce in their Bitcoin pair once the hype around the halving was over. 

At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading at around $3,170, down over 1% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. 

Ethereum price chart from Tradingview.com

Ethereum Withdrawals From Exchanges Top 260,000 ETH – What This Means For Price

Ethereum withdraws from centralized exchanges have ramped up over the last week, suggesting a direction for investor sentiment during this time. Given the sheer volume of ETH withdrawn from these exchanges, it is prudent to try to understand what this could mean for the crypto’s price.

260,000 ETH Leaves Exchanges

Amid the uncertainty that has plagued the crypto market, Ethereum investors are making moves to secure their positions for better price prospects. Pseudonymous crypto technical analyst Titan of Crypto took to X (formerly Twitter) to share what Ethereum investors are doing about their holdings right.

Related Reading: Bitcoin Bears Risk Losing $7.2 Billion If BTC Price Reaches This Level

The post revealed that these investors have been withdrawing large amounts of ETH from centralized exchanges. In the one week period that was tracked, the report found that a total of 260,000 ETH were withdrawn from exchanges, which was worth almost $800 million at the time.

Now, exchange deposits and withdrawals are important for any cryptocurrency because it can often tell how investors are looking at that coin and what they are doing with their holdings. In the case of large deposits to centralized exchanges, it can be very bearish for the price because investors often deposit their coins in order to sell them as exchanges provide deep liquidity.

In contrast, withdrawals from exchanges suggest that investors are not looking to sell their ETH. Rather, they are accumulating the coins to wait for better prices before selling. Naturally, this is bullish for the Ethereum price as a diminished selling pressure gives room for the price to recover.

In this case, the withdrawals are bullish or the Ethereum price, as investors continue to accumulate. It also signals that investors are expecting a price breakout, and as the withdrawals ramp up, demand could surpass supply, leading to a surge in price.

Ethereum Headwinds Still Negative

Ethereum, while currently seeing some positive activity from investors, has still not turned completely bullish. For one, there has been a significant decline in its daily trading volume. According to data from Coinmarketcap, Ethereum’s trading volume is down approximately 20% in the last day.

This decline in volume suggests a declining interest from investors to actually trade the coin. As such, its price may be negatively affected as attention begins to shift elsewhere, with investors looking for better prospects.

Nevertheless, the cryptocurrency still looks bullish for the long term. Ethereum continues to closely mirror the price performance of Bitcoin, which is expected to go on a bull run following the successful completion of its fourth halving event.

For now, Ethereum continues to struggle to hold above $3,100 with small gains of 0.18% in the last day. Over the last month, it has suffered multiple crashes, registering a 12.36% loss in the last 30 days.

Ethereum price chart from Tradingview.com

Ethereum Resurgence: TRON Founder Justin Sun Goes On 127,388 ETH Buying Spree

The second-largest crypto token by market cap, Ethereum (ETH), looks set to make a massive market recovery following recent buys suspected to be made by Tron’s founder, Justin Sun. Sun’s accumulation spree again highlights crypto whales’ recent bullishness on Ethereum despite fluctuating prices. 

Sun Allegedly Buys $405 Million Worth Of ETH

In an X (formerly Twitter) post, the on-chain analytics platform Lookonchain drew the crypto community’s attention to a mysterious wallet suspected to belong to Justin Sun. This wallet is said to have bought 127,388 ETH ($405.19 million) from Binance and decentralized exchanges (DEXs) since April 8 at an average price of $3,127.  

Ethereum Justin Sun Tron

Meanwhile, Lookonchain tried to prove further its theory that this wallet likely belonged to Justin Sun. The platform alluded to a previous tweet mentioning that a suspected Justin Sun wallet bought 168,369 ETH at $2,894 from Binance and a DEX between February 12 and 24. It noted that the “transaction behavior” of both wallets was similar, which suggests that they are both likely owned by Justin Sun. 

If indeed both wallets are owned by Justin Sun, that means the Tron founder has accumulated 295,757 ETH ($891 million) at an average price of $3,014 since February 12. Like every whale activity, Sun’s alleged transactions have caught the crypto community’s attention, with many wondering why he is gaining so much exposure to the second-largest crypto token. 

Ethereum Whales Are Bullish

Sun’s actions highlighted the bullish sentiment that Ethereum whales have towards the crypto token despite its recent unimpressive price action. Bitcoinist recently reported about an Ethereum whale who, despite already losing $4.5 million, opened another long position on the second-largest crypto token. 

This whale also borrowed 17.3 million USDT just to increase their exposure to the crypto token. In a recent X post, Lookonchain again highlighted how Ethereum whales are still making bullish moves in the market. On-chain data shows a fresh wallet (0x9EB0) that withdrew 7,182 ETH ($23.06 million) from Binance, which suggests long-term holding by this whale. 

Another wallet (0x1958) withdrew 5,181 ETH ($16.28 million) from Binance and put their ETH holdings to work by staking it into Bedrock and Pendle while anticipating further price gains in the crypto token.

Such bullish sentiment towards Ethereum could be good for ETH’s price as whales are known to have a significant impact on a token’s price discovery. It could also prove crucial during this period when Ethereum is experiencing declining network growth, which means that the rate at which new users come into the ecosystem has slowed. 

At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading at around $3,170, down over 1% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. 

Ethereum price chart from Tradingview.com (Justin Sun Tron)

3 Major Metrics To Watch Out For That Can Impact Ethereum Prices

The crypto market has been plagued with increased volatility lately, with the second largest crypto token by market cap, Ethereum (ETH), not exempt. This has made it harder to determine Ethereum’s future trajectory. However, certain metrics indicate what direction ETH’s price could head in when this volatility subsides. 

Ethereum Investors Are Bullish

Data from Coinglass shows that most Ethereum investors and traders are still bullish on the crypto token despite recent fluctuating prices. Specifically, most of these traders have continued to open long positions on Ethereum, meaning they are betting on it experiencing significant moves to the upside in the long run. 

The bullish sentiment towards Ethereum is highlighted by a trader who, having lost $4.5 million while longing ETH, still opened another long position on the second-largest crypto token. This crypto whale went as far as borrowing 17.3 million USDT from Compound just to increase their position on Ethereum. 

These investors’ bullishness on Ethereum is even more commendable, considering that the bulls have suffered the most from ETH’s high volatility. Data from Coinglass shows that over $16 million in long positions have been liquidated in the last 24 hours, compared to the $10 million short positions that have liquidated during this period. 

Meanwhile, data from the market intelligence platform IntoTheBlock shows that Ethereum’s Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) ratio has dropped, indicating that many Ethereum holders are not yet in profit. This could be bullish for ETH’s price as these holders will likely hold in anticipation of further upward price action, thereby providing support against any potential price declines. 

Making A Case For The Bears

While the activity in the derivates market and Ethereum’s MVRV ratio paint a bullish outlook for the crypto token, Ethereum’s network growth suggests that ETH could still experience further price declines. Data from Santiment shows that the rate at which new users enter the Ethereum ecosystem has slowed recently. 

This declining network growth is also evident in a recent Bitcoinist report, which noted that Ethereum fees have dropped to their lowest since January. Ethereum fees are known to skyrocket when there is increased activity on the network. Therefore, low fees mean fewer new users are currently transacting on the network or even holding the ETH token at all. 

However, the silver lining is that data from Santiment also shows an increase in velocity, which suggests that existing users on the network are actively trading and injecting more liquidity into the Ethereum ecosystem. This factor could also contribute to potential price surges for the ETH token. 

At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading at around $3,200, which is up in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. 

Ethereum price chart from Tradingview.com

XRP To $20 And Ethereum To $20,000: Crypto Analyst Reveals When This Will Happen

Crypto analyst CrediBULL Crypto has laid out a bullish narrative for Ethereum (ETH) and XRP. He claimed that both tokens could rise to as high as $20,000 and $20, respectively. Additionally, he stipulated when this parabolic price surge is likely to happen. 

Ethereum Could Hit A Market Top Near $20,000

CrediBULL Crypto mentioned in an X (formerly Twitter) post that there is a chance that Ethereum could hit a market peak near $20,000. He further explained that ETH could attain this price level based on his belief that BTC can “realistically” see a 2x in this market cycle from its last high of $69,000 in the 2021 bull run. As such, altcoins like ETH will do “multiples of that.” 

Specifically, he foresees ETH doing a 3x to 4x of its prior all-time high (ATH) of $4,800, which puts the second largest crypto token by market cap in a price range between $15,000 and $20,000. Meanwhile, CrediBULL asserted that Ethereum will surely rise to $10,000 at the minimum. 

Following CrediBULL’s prediction, another X user questioned how possible it was for ETH to rise to a market cap of $2 trillion, stating that it seems “crazy.” However, the crypto analyst responded that ETH rising to such levels is a “blow off top, ” so the market cap will look “outrageous.” He jokingly added that there is a problem if the market caps don’t look outrageous. 

XRP Is Another Altcoin That Could Experience Exponential Growth 

In a different X post, CrediBULL also made a case for XRP, stating that XRP could also rise between $10 and $12 if ETH were to hit $10,000. He suggested that XRP wasn’t to be underrated despite its current underperformance, noting that XRP actually flipped ETH in terms of market cap at some point in the last cycle.  

Therefore, the crypto analyst added that anyone who thinks ETH hitting $10,000 is “realistic” should also believe that XRP rising to $10 is possible. In a subsequent X post, CrediBULL claimed that XRP could even rise to as high as $20 based on ETH hitting $10,000 at its current circulating supply. 

Again, he noted that XRP is very capable of attaining such price levels, seeing as it is a top 10 coin, which means that the market demand for it is evidently there. CrediBULL’s sentiment echoes that of Nick, the founder of Web3Alert, who previously predicted that XRP could rise to $10 since there were predictions that Bitcoin and Ethereum would rise to as high as $150,000 and $10,000, respectively.  

At the time of writing, ETH and XRP are trading at around $3,290 and $0.58, according to data from CoinMarketCap. 

XRP price chart from Tradingview.com (Ethereum)

Brace For Market Impact: Ethereum Open Interest Has Reached A New All-Time High

Ethereum has, for the most part, established a foothold above the $3,500 price level throughout the week as investors continue to anticipate a return to the $4,000 mark. Interestingly, the optimism has seen the open interest of Ethereum surging to new highs. The surge in open interest, although a bullish sentiment indicator, can also serve as a bearish signal of an impending change in market trend. 

Ultimately, this metric added to the current dynamics of the Ethereum ecosystem, including regulatory uncertainty and scalability concerns hinting at a complicated price trajectory for the price of Ethereum.

Ethereum Open Interest Reaches New High

Open interest is an efficient method for tracking the total number of open positions in a particular contract. Recent market dynamics and institutional investor interest have seen the total open interest in Ethereum futures surging above records set in the 2021 bull market phase.

According to data from Coinglass, the open interest on Ethereum futures, which has been on a surge since February 5, recently set a new high of $14.11 billion on March 15. This wasn’t particularly surprising, as a strong buying momentum from the bulls in the prior days saw the price of Ethereum surging past the $4,000 mark for the first time in two years. 

However, Ethereum has since reversed from the $4,000 price level and is currently trading below $3,600. On the other hand, the total open interest on Ethereum contracts has maintained around its all-time high level, which allowed it to cross over $14.10 billion again on March 28. The open interest weighted average also went up to 0.0462%, indicating an increase in the demand for leveraged ETH long positions.

The majority ($4.55 billion) in the Ethereum futures market were registered on cryptocurrency exchange Binance. Bybit and OKX came in second and third, with $2.39 billion and $1.94 billion respectively. Interestingly, CME’s Ether futures also surged to $1.3 billion. At the time of writing, the CME’s Ether futures now sit at $1.31 billion, reiterating the committed bullishness among institutional investors.

What’s Next For ETH?

Ethereum has been trading flat since the beginning of the week and is currently on a 0.78% gain in the past seven days. All eyes are now on reports of the SEC looking into Ethereum’s security status, the industry awaits an official ruling similar to the one that was handed down in the XRP case that will finally provide clarity to the regulatory landscape.

At the same time, investors continue to await the SEC’s decision regarding the applications of Spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the US. According to a Bloomberg senior analyst, the likelihood of approval is only 25%.

Ethereum price chart from Tradingview.com

‘Dencun’ Upgrade Officially Deployed On Ethereum Mainnet, ETH Price Holds Steady Below $4,000

Ethereum (ETH) has completed a major software upgrade, Dencun, that promises to make utilizing the network ecosystem more cost-effective. This update specifically targets Layer 2 (L2) networks, such as Arbitrum (ARB), Polygon (MATIC), and Coinbase’s Base, which are interconnected with Ethereum. 

With Dencun, transaction costs on these networks have significantly decreased, with fees dropping from dollars to cents or even fractions of a cent.

Ethereum Dencun Upgrade And Cost Savings

Considered the most significant change in Ethereum’s end-user experience, the Dencun upgrade is expected to foster the development of new applications and services by significantly reducing expenses. 

As NewsBTC reported on Tuesday, the update introduces a new data storage system, departing from the traditional approach of storing Layer 2 data on Ethereum itself. Adopting a new “blobs” repository reduces data storage costs since information is warehoused for only about 18 days instead of indefinitely.

One of the notable benefits of the Dencun upgrade lies in its impact on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and gas costs. For instance, projected gas costs for popular Layer 2 networks, such as Arbitrum, Optimism, and Coinbase’s Base, are set to be significantly reduced. 

Ethereum

The projected savings translate into a reduction of Arbitrum’s swaps from $2.02 to $0.40, Optimism’s swaps from $1.42 to $0.28, and Coinbase’s Base swaps from $0.58 to $0.01, emphasizing the pivotal role of this upgrade. 

As the upgrade was successfully launched on the mainnet, Tim Beiko, Ethereum Foundation core developer, expressed his satisfaction with the work accomplished and claimed:

Dencun is both the most complex fork we’ve shipped since the Merge, and tied for “most total EIPs in a fork” with Byzantium. There were more teams than ever involved in the process, and it somehow all worked out smoothly…! Grateful to work with all of them, onto the next one. 

Blob Transactions And Pricing Changes

Layer 2 network Arbitrum has provided insights into the upgrade process. It will take around one to two hours for blob transactions to commence posting and for the new pricing changes specified by EIP-4844 to come into effect. 

ArbOS Atlas, an upgrade that supports Arbitrum Chains, will introduce further fee reductions for Arbitrum One, set to be activated on March 18th. The updated configurations include a reduction in the Layer 1 (L1) surplus fee from 32 gwei to 0 per compressed byte and a reduction in the L2 base fee from 0.1 gwei to 0.01 gwei.

The Dencun upgrade unlocks cost-saving opportunities for Layer 2 networks and addresses congestion concerns by freeing up more space on the Ethereum network for additional transactions. While the upgrade offers enhanced efficiency, it does come at the cost of no longer retaining a complete record of all data indefinitely.

However, as Layer 2 networks embrace this new update to the Ethereum ecosystem, the stage is set for accelerated adoption, usage, and broader accessibility within the Ethereum community and its underlying protocols.

Dencun Upgrade Fails To Propel ETH Above $4,000 

Despite the successful upgrade, ETH’s price remains unaffected, continuing to consolidate below the $4,000 threshold. The token attempted to surpass this crucial resistance level on Monday and Tuesday but failed to sustain its position above it.

Ethereum

For over 24 hours now, ETH has been trading between $3,930 and $3,970. Nevertheless, it’s worth noting that ETH has maintained its upward momentum, with gains exceeding 18% over the past fourteen days and nearly 60% over the past thirty days. 

Additionally, introducing the Dencun upgrade is expected to drive increased demand for ETH, potentially sparking a renewed uptrend that could bridge the gap between current trading prices and its previous all-time high (ATH) of $4,878, achieved in November 2021.

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com

Total ETH Burned Crosses 1.5 Million Ahead Of Ethereum Dencun Upgrade

The Ethereum Dencun upgrade is fast approaching and there have already been notable developments leading up to it. Besides the price of ETH rising to new two-year highs, there has been a significant increase in the amount of ETH that has been burned so far.

Over 50,000 ETH Burned

The Ethereum burn, which was brought with the EIP-1559 upgrade, has been ramping up over the past year. The ETH burned from fees on the blockchain quickly crossed the $100 million mark, and has now climbed to a new milestone.

According to Ultrasound Money, a website dedicated to tracking the performance of Ethereum since EIP-1559 was implemented, there have now been over 1.5 million ETH burned. A more accurate figure is 1,502,518.84 ETH at the time of writing, which is more than $5.6 billion at current prices.

The number of burned ETH has also greatly surpassed that of ETH issued, which means that the network has turned deflationary. Compared to the 1,502,518.84 ETH burned, there have been only 1,089,809.20 ETH issued in the same time period. This shows that the supply has not increased despite the new issuance, and ETH already in circulation is being burned as well.

At the time of the upgrade in 2022, the total Ethereum supply was 120,521,245. However, since then, the burn has been slowly eating into this figure and is currently sitting at 120,108,332 ETH. This means that the ETH supply has reduced by 412,706 ETH worth $1.55 billion since 2022.

Ethereum Dencun Upgrade Looms On The Horizon

The Ethereum Dencun upgrade is the latest in a long line of upgrades that have taken place in an effort to make it a better network. This upgrade is expected to come with a number of improvements for the network, including boosting its efficiency and capacity.

It was launched on all testnets last week which is expected to be the final phase before the launch. The launch itself has been scheduled to take place less than a week from now on March 13. Once completed, an increase in block space is expected to follow.

Presently, the ETH price is performing quite nicely leading up to the upgrade. It recently touched $3,900 for the first time since 2022, and while there has been a slight retracement, the altcoin continues to trend high above $3,700 at the time of writing.

Ethereum price chart from Tradingview.com (Dencun upgrade)

The Ethereum Foundation Is Selling ETH Again, Is The Top In?

The Ethereum Foundation, a non-profit organization, has initiated an unexpected ETH sell-off to a single address, prompting speculation about a potential market peak. 

Ethereum Foundation Executes Multiple ETH Transfers

On Monday, March 4, Blockchain analytics platform LookOnChain revealed a series of transactions executed by a wallet address related to the Ethereum Foundation. Sharing a screenshot of the transaction details on X (formerly Twitter), LookOnchain disclosed that the Ethereum Foundation had initiated three ETH transactions to a single wallet address identified as “Cumberland Forwarder”. 

Among these transfers, two involved selling off 500 ETH each, while the third recorded a transaction amount of 0 ETH. At the time of writing the price of Ethereum is trading at $3,684.95 according to CoinMarketCap. This price puts the value of the Ethereum Foundation’s 1000 ETH sell-offs at over $3.68 million. 

It’s uncertain whether this unexpected sell-off indicates a shift in the foundation’s perspective on Ethereum’s current valuation, as the foundation is known for selling ETH tokens during tops. Additionally, the timing of the transfers could be an indication of a peak in Ethereum’s price, which often precedes a significant price correction. 

Including the Ethereum Foundation, there have been other major ETH transfers made by investors. Earlier in January, bankrupt cryptocurrency company Celsius Network initiated a massive sell-off worth about $125 million ETH. Following this large-scale transfer, Ethereum’s price experienced a major decline. 

With the price of Ethereum slowly approaching its peak value, if a similar sell-off phase occurs, it could potentially trigger a shift in market sentiment, pushing investors to opt for other major cryptocurrencies as they attempt to diversify their portfolios and avoid risks. 

ETH’s Price Update

Recently, Ethereum has been witnessing significant gains, driving its price closer to its previous all-time high of $4,379 in May 2021. Notably, the cryptocurrency has been aggressively following Bitcoin’s recent bullish uptrend, reinforcing its position as the second-largest cryptocurrency in the space. 

Various analysts have consistently made bullish predictions about the price of Ethereum, with the majority expecting the cryptocurrency to surge above $5,000 soon. Considering the multiple upgrades and developmental activities ongoing within the Ethereum blockchain, a price surge to $4,000 seems probable. 

In the advent that Ethereum reaches its “top in”, the cryptocurrency may undergo a sell-off phase, as investors seek to maximize profits by cashing out their investments. This could lead to a price reversal, with persistent selling pressures diminishing demand and instigating Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD) among traders and investors. 

Ethereum price chart from Tradingview.com

Can Ethereum Touch $4,000? Crypto Analyst Says ETH Rally Far From Over

Like Bitcoin, Ethereum has also picked up steam, with the second-largest crypto token crossing the $3,000 resistance level for the first time since 2021. Interestingly, this crypto analyst believes the rally is far from over, as he highlighted a key price level that ETH could hit soon enough. 

Ethereum Could Rise To As High As $4,000

Crypto analyst Altcoin Sherpa suggested in an X (formerly Twitter) post that Ethereum could rise to as high as $4,000. His prediction looks feasible when one considers crypto analyst Bitcoin Ape’s recent analysis of Ethereum from a technical analysis perspective. 

In his X post, Bitcoin Ape noted that the ADX (average directional index) indicator is currently “very high,” signalling that ETH’s bullish trend is strong. Indeed, this bullish momentum might be very strong as the crypto token has since crossed the $3,130 price level, which Bitcoin Ape highlighted in his post as ETH’s new resistance level

Interestingly, the analyst noted that Ethereum had already faced four resistance levels in February alone and has so far broken all of them, having also crossed the $3,130 mark. Although Bitcoin Ape failed to give his short-term prediction for ETH, he expects the crypto token to hit its all-time high (ATH) of $4,891 when the bull run returns in full force.  

Meanwhile, Altcoin Sherpa isn’t the only one who believes that ETH could rise to $4,000 soon enough. Standard Chartered Bank had also predicted that the crypto token would hit this price level by the time the Spot Ethereum ETF is approved in May. 

Crypto analyst Rager also recently gave a bullish prediction for ETH’s price, although he put his short-term target at $3,500. However, he added that this price level is only the beginning, stating that it isn’t the “peak high by any means.”

Ethereum’s Rally Not Hinged On Bitcoin’s Success

There is reason to believe Ethereum’s current bullish momentum isn’t due to Bitcoin’s price surge, as the Ethereum ecosystem also has narratives that may be driving ETH’s rally. For one, the Ethereum network’s ‘Dencun’ upgrade is set to take place on March 13. This much-anticipated event is significant as it would usher in advancements in the scalability, security, and usability of the Ethereum network.

Meanwhile, talks about a Spot Ethereum ETF likely being approved in May have created a lot of excitement for investors who have chosen to double down on their investments in the second-largest crypto token in anticipation of this happening. 

The increased interest in ETH is expected to spark significant rallies in its price ahead of the May deadline, when the SEC will have to approve or deny VanEck’s Spot Ethereum ETF application.

Ethereum price chart from Tradingview.com (Crypto analyst)

Ethereum Outperforms Bitcoin As Institutional Investors Clamor For ETH Exposure

Reports have revealed that institutional investors are shifting their focus to Ethereum, displaying a preference compared to the largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin. Despite Bitcoin’s recent rally to over $55,000, Ethereum’s unique features and potential developmental capabilities continue to capture institutional players’ interest. 

Institutions Favor Ethereum Over Bitcoin

On February 24, cryptocurrency exchange, Bybit, published a research report on its users’ asset allocation. The research examined investors’ hodling and trading behaviours, covering the period from July 2023 to January 2024. Bybit’s report also provided valuable insights into investors’ asset allocation across cryptocurrencies such as altcoins, stablecoins and meme coins, shedding light on the specific coins users are currently bullish or bearish on.  

According to the research report, Ethereum has unexpectedly emerged as the primary cryptocurrency choice for institutional investors. The report revealed that “institutions are betting big on Ethereum,” allocating more of their funds to ETH compared to BTC. 

Bybit has disclosed that the recent rise in interest in Ethereum began in September 2023, when ETH was still trading around $2,000. Subsequently, Ethereum’s market sentiment became more bullish, experiencing a surge in investor interest to about 40% by January 2024. The crypto exchange has confirmed that, as of January 31, ETH has become the single largest cryptocurrency held by institutions.

Bybit’s report also revealed that institutional investors’ interest in Bitcoin began to wane following the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approval of Spot Bitcoin ETFs on January 10, 2024. At the time, Bitcoin had experienced massive selling pressures, resulting in investors trimming their BTC holdings to favour other cryptocurrencies. 

The excessive allocation of Ethereum is reportedly attributed to investors anticipating a favourable outcome from Ethereum’s upcoming Decun Upgrade, slated to launch in March 2024. 

Notably, Bybit has disclosed that it is still being determined if the recent shift to Ethereum is a short-term manoeuvre or a more prolonged move. However, the approaching Bitcoin halving in April potentially adds a layer of bearish risks, as projections indicate Bitcoin’s significant rise in value to new all-time highs during the halving phase. 

Ethereum price chart from Tradingview.com (Bitcoin)

Retail Investors Think Otherwise

Bybit’s research report also examines the asset allocation trend for retail investors on the cryptocurrency exchange. The report revealed that retail investors are significantly more bullish on Bitcoin than Ethereum, allocating more funds into BTC than ETH despite Ethereum’s recent surge in value. 

Over the past week, Ethereum has experienced a substantial hike in its price, jumping over 7% and outpacing Bitcoin, suggesting a potential for a more extensive upward trajectory. At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading at $3,227, reflecting a 4.05% increase in the last 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap. 

While Ethereum’s massive rally has successfully elevated the sentiment among institutional investors, retail investors remain less swayed, opting to hold onto or incorporate additional Bitcoin into their diversified portfolio of digital assets. 

Market Expert Highlights Top Coins To Watch As Ethereum (ETH) Reaches 22-Month High

Market expert Miles Deutscher has identified several key trends and developments in the cryptocurrency market, particularly focusing on the Ethereum (ETH) rally and its implications for Layer-2 (L2) decentralized finance (DeFi) altcoins. 

Deutscher highlights that ETH’s recent surge to a 22-month high of $3,130 has sparked increased interest in L2/DeFi altcoins, presenting potential opportunities for investors.

Ethereum Price Strength Continues

In a recent post on social media X (formerly Twitter), Deutscher notes that Ethereum continues to show strength, especially compared to Bitcoin (BTC), which remains in a key consolidation phase at $51,100. Holding above the significant psychological level of $3,000, ETH’s bullish momentum is further fueled by reports of Justin Sun, the founder of TRON, purchasing over $500 million worth of ETH in recent days. 

Deutscher remains optimistic about ETH and ETH-betas leading up to the proposed exchange-traded fund (ETF) dates in May and the upcoming Dencun upgrade in March. There are also potential indications of ETH/BTC breaking out, with investor Andrew Kang actively increasing his ETH long position.

First, on his altcoins watchlist, Deutscher highlights the fee switch proposal underway at Uniswap (UNI). This US-based decentralized crypto exchange has seen notable price gains of over 37% in the past week, which could have significant implications for the entire industry from a regulatory standpoint.

Notably, the analyst believes that this development could potentially trigger a broader rotation into other DeFi 1.0 tokens such as Curve DAO (CRV), Compound (COMP), Aave (AAVE), and Frax Share (FXS), THORchain (RUNE), GMX, as investors seek to capitalize on the DeFi landscape.

Moving on to another altcoin that could see a price spike, Deutscher suggests that this week’s anticipated launch of Blast L2, founded by the same individual behind BLUR, presents an opportunity for BLUR stakers to receive tokens from the airdrop and potentially be further integrated into the ecosystem. 

Deutscher suggests that BLUR provides an alternative way to gain exposure to the Blast project, which has garnered bullish sentiment from numerous funds and thought leaders.

Following the positive news surrounding Uniswap, DYDX has been on the rise, with the token seeing a 7% increase in price over the last seven days. However, Deutscher cautions that a significant unlock is expected this week, which may tempt some recipients to sell, potentially causing a temporary dip in price.

Next in the spotlight, speculation surrounding the upcoming launch of Aevo (AEVO), which will allow developers to launch their protocols on its rollup and introduce an incentive program, is growing and generating interest in Ribbon Finance (RBN).

Given these developments, Deutscher notes that the prospect of pre-markets and IOU markets gaining “massive” attention and the recent record $4 million in fees positions RBN within an exciting narrative.

Deutscher’s Insights Point To Promising Trends

Following Deutscher’s mention of COTI last week, the coin has seen over 100% growth, breaking through key resistance levels. With the launch of their new privacy-enhancing L2 coinciding with the upcoming Ethereum Dencun upgrade, Deutscher notes that the protocol is in a favorable position for further price growth in the market.

On the other end of the spectrum, Deutscher acknowledges the rapid pace of market rotation and suggests keeping a close eye on Artificial Intelligence (AI) coins, which, as reported by NewsBTC, have seen significant gains with the hype surrounding AI projects such as Worldcoin (WLD).

Finally, with signs of life emerging over the weekend, according to the analyst, Rollbit Coin’s (RLB) burn mechanics position it as a leader in the “Rev Share/Real Yield” narrative. With the market potentially entering an “explosive bull run,” Deutscher believes the casino/gambling narrative could gain traction, benefiting projects like Rollbit, which has also seen gains of over 7% in the past 24 hours.

Ethereum

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com

Crypto Analyst Sounds Warning Alarm: Last Chance To Buy Bitcoin And Ethereum Before Bull Run

Crypto analyst Rager recently provided valuable insights to Bitcoin and Ethereum investors ahead of the imminent bull run. As part of his statements, he revealed the best time to go all in on the two largest crypto tokens by market cap, Bitcoin and Ethereum.

“Last Great Opportunity For This Cycle”

Rager opined in an X (formerly Twitter) post that the “last great opportunity for this cycle” will come around the Bitcoin Halving. In line with this, he also stated that he was still holding spot in positions and waiting for the “BTC and ETH pullback”, which he explicitly predicts will happen between now and May. 

Going by Rager’s opinion, this “nice dip” presents the perfect time for crypto investors to position themselves ahead of this cycle’s bull run. His statement also suggests that Bitcoin and Ethereum (and possibly other crypto tokens) will run massively after that pullback occurs. Interestingly, analysts have continued to identify this event as what will kickstart the next bull run.

Bitcoin price chart from Tradingview.com

Bitcoin Run To $60,000 Might Be Close

In a subsequent X post, Rager gave an idea of what price level Bitcoin could drop to when the crash occurred as he hinted that he wouldn’t invest until Bitcoin dropped to $48,000. He also provided an analysis of Bitcoin’s current price action, noting that it has been “composed of a few days of strong price action followed by a lot of chop and pullbacks.”

He added that Bitcoin and the broader crypto market “has a lot of upside opportunity.” However, he warned that there could likely be a short-term pullback, which he predicts could be the last great opportunity to invest. Rager also claimed that Bitcoin would break the $60,000 resistance for the first time since 2021 once this pullback is done. 

ETH To $3,500 Is The Next Target

In another X post, Rager mentioned that the $3,500 price level is the target for the current bullish momentum in the market. He also believes this will likely happen “sooner rather than later” with the help of the Ethereum Spot ETF rumours. Industry experts have expressed confidence that these funds will be approved.  

$3,500 is just Rager’s first target for Ethereum in this cycle’s bull run, noting that it isn’t the “peak high by any means.” Meanwhile, the analyst stated that the peak of this bull run is still far off. Using the crypto fundraising data as an indicator to determine when the market top is almost in, he noted that fundraising was still at lower levels compared to peak bull market activity.

Ethereum Staking Reaches Historic Milestone As ETH Price Barrels Past $2,400

Ethereum staking has been ramping up despite the poor performance of the ETH price over the past year. Liquid staking protocols such as Lido Finance have continued to see the amount of ETH being staked rise, and as a result of this continued interest in staking ETH, the total amount of supply that has been locked so far has reached a new all-time high.

25% Of All ETH Are Now Staked

In an interesting turn of events, the total percentage of ETH supply that is being staked has crossed the 25% mark. This was made public by Lido Finance, which shared a screenshot of a Dune Analytics dashboard showing that it has touched the 25% mark.

Looking at the Dune Analytics dashboard, it shows that this figure continues to climb following this, with 25.08% of the total ETH supply now staked. This figure is facilitated by a total of 924,023 Ethereum validators that are currently running on the network.

Net flows have also gone against expectations and have been positive since the Shanghai upgrade. This upgrade allowed stakers to be able to finally withdraw their staked ETH. But rather than withdrawals happening en masse, more ETH has flowed into staking contracts.

Dune’s data shows that over 10 million ETH have flowed into staking contracts since the Shanghai upgrade. Currently, there are over 30.14 million ETH in total staked so far, and this figure seems to be rising fast.

Lido Dominates Ethereum Staking

Of the total 30.14 million ETH figure that has been staked so far, a large percentage are currently being staked through the Lido platform, as the Dune Analytics platform accounts for 31.52% of all staked ETH. This solidifies Lido’s position as the largest Ethereum staking platform, with over 297,000 validators on the protocol.

Coinbase follows behind Lido, accounting for 14.4% of the total ETH staked with more than 136,000 validators. This means that together, Coinbase and Lido Finance currently control 45% of the staked ETH market, giving them a head start over others.

Binance, another crypto exchange, is in third place, with 4.3% of all staked ETH and 41,000 validates. Kiln, Figment, and Rocket Pool control the 4th, 5th, and 6th positions, respectively, controlling between 2.8% and 3.3% of the total staked ETH.

Looking at the rewards so far, Ethereum stakers have made quite a lot since the initiative began. The total ETH earned so far by Lido stakers has crossed 467,000 ETH, with 259,000 ETH earned on Coinbase, and 139,000 ETH earned by Binance stakers.

The ETH price has also turned bullish during this time, beating the resistance at $2,400. It is up 2.22% in the last day, with 7% gains in the last week, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Ethereum price chart from Tradingview.com (ETH Staking)

Ethereum Dencun Upgrade Launch Boosts ETH Price, Eyes 90% Fee Reduction

Ethereum (ETH) has made significant strides in its 2024 roadmap with the successful launch of the Dencun upgrade on the final Holesky testnet. 

This is seen as a crucial step towards deploying the upgrade on the mainnet, signaling Ethereum’s progress in improving transaction efficiency, and scalability and reducing transaction fees by up to 90%. As a result, ETH has surged 2.9% in the last 24 hours, breaking its previous downtrend.

Ethereum Dencun Upgrade

The Dencun upgrade was first activated on the Sepolia testnet in January 2024, following its deployment on the Goerli testnet. This upgrade aligns with Ethereum’s broader strategy to enhance scalability and reduce transaction costs for its users. 

Introducing the concept of “proto-danksharding,” Dencun aims to decrease transaction costs for layer-2 blockchains and address scalability challenges, paving the way for the eventual implementation of “danksharding” for further benefits.

Once fully implemented, Dencun is expected to significantly increase Ethereum’s transaction processing capacity, potentially enabling the network to handle over 100,000 transactions per second. According to the network’s development team, this scalability enhancement is crucial for supporting the growing ecosystem of decentralized applications (dApps) and users on Ethereum.

Furthermore, Dencun will have notable technical improvements, such as the introduction of ‘blobs,’ which reduce the cost of rollups on the Ethereum mainnet by compressing transaction data off-chain. 

By caching data needed for short-term transaction verification, blobs aim to minimize storage and processing requirements, further enhancing the network’s transactional capabilities.

Anticipation For ETH’s Market Impact

The successful implementation of the Dencun upgrade holds the potential for significant implications on ETH’s market value, driven by a combination of factors.

Firstly, the upgrade’s enhanced network capabilities, including boosted transaction processing capacity and reduced costs, are expected to attract more developers and users to the Ethereum ecosystem. 

With improved scalability and lower transaction fees, Ethereum could become a more attractive platform for building dApps and conducting transactions. This increased utility and demand for Ethereum could have a positive impact on its market value as more participants seek to acquire ETH tokens.

The perceived reliability and forward momentum resulting from the successful implementation of Dencun may attract more investors to consider Ethereum as an investment opportunity. The increased interest and demand for ETH tokens driven by this positive sentiment can contribute to potential price appreciation.

Lastly, the anticipation of Dencun’s benefits and the reactions to its successful implementation may lead to short-term price volatility, with investors adjusting their positions based on their expectations of how the upgrade will impact Ethereum’s functionality and market position.

All of these developments could have a significant impact on ETH’s price trajectory and position the token in a long bullish trend, if this momentum continues to be capitalized on, the next barrier at $2,450 could be easily surpassed, potentially sending ETH to new highs. 

While the long-term implications remain to be seen, this is a positive development for ETH bulls as the network has lacked significant catalysts and has been involved in a significant price correction for the past 3 weeks.

With activations on the Sepolia and Goerli testnets already completed, the final testnet deployment, Holesky, was initially scheduled for February 7, 2024. However, it has now been rescheduled for March 2024. 

Ethereum

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com