The Ethereum Shanghai upgrade has sparked excitement in the crypto world, as Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, surged past $2.1K. The upgrade marks the final phase in Ethereum’s transition to a more energy-efficient proof-of-stake protocol, which is expected to boost its transaction speed, reduce its carbon footprint, and increase platform adoption, leading to a sustained uptick in asset value.
Many traders have been waiting for the upgrade to start long position accumulation, and the neutral news about U.S. inflation, coupled with deferred demand, has pushed ETH price up. Ether’s price climbed steadily, stalling only after surpassing the $2,000 mark for the first time since August last year. Ether was trading over $2,100, up more than 11% over the past 24 hours.
Ilya Volkov, CEO, and co-founder of YouHodler, predicts that if current macroeconomic conditions remain stable, Ether is unlikely to veer from the upward trend channel it has been following since the beginning of the year, even if selling pressure increases in the future. This is good news for investors looking to earn staking rewards and benefit from the platform’s increased liquidity. Bitcoin has also continued its moderate momentum, inching toward $31K, up more than 2.5% from Monday at the same time.
Other major cryptos, such as ARB, the token of layer 2 blockchain Arbitrum, and APT, the native crypto of layer 1 blockchain Aptos, have spent much of Thursday in the green, with ARB soaring about 33% and APT jumping about 12%.
Investors are diversifying their portfolios to include assets that maintain their worth, as evidenced by the recent surge in gold prices, which have reached a near all-time high of $2,050, while the tech-focused Nasdaq and S&P 500 also performed well, gaining 2% and 1.3%, respectively. Crypto-related stocks, including Marathon Digital and Hut 8 Mining, are also experiencing an upswing, each increasing by about 15%.
According to CoinDesk analyst Glenn Williams, since January 2021, the trajectory of ether deposited into ETH staking contracts has steadily increased, indicating that the asset is gaining favor among investors. The trend is expected to level off in the coming weeks and months as investors who need to un-stake ETH begin to do so. However, completing the Ethereum Shanghai upgrade is expected to reduce risk, increase liquidity, and lead to a promising uptick in asset value for those who choose to stake their ETH, as media reports said.
