Shanghai Upgrade Unlocks Staked Ether
After almost a year, Bitcoin (BTC) has surged past the $US30,000 mark, bringing a wave of excitement to the crypto community. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s much-anticipated Shanghai hard fork, also known as the “Shapella” upgrade, has been finalised. The upgrade, which enables users to withdraw staked Ether (ETH), went live during the morning of April 13 in Australia. Shortly after, 285 withdrawals were processed, totalling around 5,413 ETH (approximately $US10 million), with a total of 18 million ETH still staked.To get more news about crypto token, you can visit wikifx.com official website.
Approaching the upgrade, and subsequent unlocking of staked Ether, investors had some concerns that a significant proportion would be sold off and cause the value of their portfolio to slide. However, Ether’s price remained reasonably flat prior, during, and after, the upgrade went live, despite withdrawals being processed.
Additional selling pressure on ETH might arise from entities under financial strain. The bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network may need to sell its staked ETH balance of almost 160,000 ETH to recover funds for creditors. Similarly, Kraken, a prominent US-based crypto exchange, has agreed to shut down its staking operations in order to settle SEC charges. Consequently, Kraken may have to unstake its entire 1.2 million ETH. These circumstances could increase the ETH supply in the market, potentially affecting its price and contributing to overall selling pressure .
Now that Ethereum validators can withdraw their stake whenever they wish, there is speculation that more and more investors will become validators and stake their ETH. This not only allows them to earn a reliable, passive income from their assets but it removes ETH from the immediate circulating supply, potentially creating upwards pressure on price as the asset becomes increasingly scarce on the open market.
Validators who stake at least 32 ETH can participate in the block validation process directly but by running their own hardware. However, not everyone can afford to stake that amount, leading to the rise of liquid staking providers such as Lido and RocketPool, or with centralised providers like Coinbase.
Ethereum’s co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, shared his optimism during a Shapella Mainnet Watch Party, stating that the hardest parts of Ethereum’s transition are now over. The Shanghai hard fork also includes four Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) aimed at improving gas fees for developers. These EIPs address various aspects such as lowering gas costs and capping gas expenses for specific functions. Scaling, which involves making transactions faster and cheaper, is the next challenge for Ethereum after the Shanghai upgrade.
Meanwhile, the latest US inflation data has led crypto investors to monitor the Federal Reserve’s next move, as the consumer price index (CPI) could affect the US central bank’s interest rate decisions. The Reserve Bank of Australia opted to hold the current interest rate steady this month, however, if the US continues to hike, the RBA could be forced to follow or risk affecting the AUD/USD exchange rate, among other things.
With the Ethereum Shapella upgrade and Bitcoin’s price rally, this week has been an exciting time for the crypto community. Investors and enthusiasts alike should keep an eye on these developments, especially in regards to the movement of staked ETH, as they could significantly impact the cryptocurrency market and their investments alike.
Elon Musk, the entrepreneur who acquired Twitter last year in a $44 billion deal, caused a stir by changing the iconic Twitter bird logo above the home button on the social network’s web version to the “doge” of the Dogecoin cryptocurrency.
Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency that features the likeness of the Shiba Inu dog from the popular internet meme as its logo. Created as a joke in 2013, Dogecoin has gained attention due to its lighthearted nature and the support of high-profile individuals like Musk.
Musk is a well-known supporter of the Doge meme and has promoted Dogecoin on various occasions, including during his appearance hosting “Saturday Night Live” last year. Following the logo change, the value of Dogecoin rose more than 20%. This event underscores how the involvement of influential figures, such as Musk, can sway the value of cryptocurrencies, even those initially created as jokes.