Ethereum May Head for New 2023 High After Shapella Upgrade

Ethereum developers have confirmed that the Shapella upgrade is stable. Meanwhile, ETH prices are poised to revisit an eight-month high.

The long-awaited Ethereum Shapella upgrade has been deployed without a hitch. On April 13, lead developer Tim Beiko confirmed that the network was stable.

A few hours ago, he noted a few minor glitches, but all was good.

“A couple missed blocks early on, likely due to the large number of BLS changes to gossip, but overall it’s looking stable now.”

Ethereum Staking Unleashed

Fears of a mass exodus of staked ETH and a flood on markets have been alleviated. Glassnode reported that an additional 2,381 validators joined the exit queue in the week preceding the Shanghai upgrade. This brought the total to 3,579 as of a few hours ago.

It added that this was equivalent to 114,528 ETH withdrawn, or 0.6% of the total stake. It confirmed that not all of this will be released at once, however:

“Only 57,600 ETH will be released per day as the queue regulates exit amounts.”

Cumulative ETH Staking Exits Chart by Glassnode
Cumulative ETH Staking Exits Chart by Glassnode

On April 12, BeInCrypto reported that less than 1% of the staked ETH is likely to be sold.

Coin Metrics estimated that around 1.2 million ETH could be withdrawn over the next five days. However, this might not necessarily be slated for sale.

Meanwhile, analytics platform Nansen launched a dashboard displaying the amount of ETH being withdrawn. At the time of writing, the number of net deposits had shrunk by 65,974 ETH.

It has yet to make a dent in the 18 million ETH that remains staked and securing the network.

Ethereum Shapella Upgrade Statistics - Nansen
Ethereum Shapella Upgrade Statistics – Nansen

Ethereum advocate Anthony Sassano pointed out that there was another major upgrade in the pipeline.

“Next major feature add is EIP-4844 as part of the ‘Dencun’ network upgrade (hopefully later this year) which will greatly enhance the scalability of rollups on Ethereum. Ethereum just keeps winning.”

ETH Prices Inch Higher

Ethereum prices have inched higher following the Shapella upgrade. As a result, ETH was trading up 2.9% on the day at $1,920 at the time of writing.

Furthermore, the asset is very close to the eight-month high it tapped earlier this week.

ETH/USD 1 Week  Chart by BeInCrypto
ETH/USD 1 Week Chart by BeInCrypto

However, ETH may pull back if Bitcoin cannot break its own resistance at $30,000. Crypto markets are likely due for a correction following sustained gains for the past month.   

Disclaimer

In adherence to the Trust Project guidelines, BeInCrypto is committed to unbiased, transparent reporting. This news article aims to provide accurate, timely information. However, readers are advised to verify facts independently and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content.

Source: https://beincrypto.com/ethereum-shapella-stable-eth-approaches-eight-month-high/