Major Shanghai Upgrade is Coming to The Second-Largest Crypto, Ethereum – The Average Joe

    Major Shanghai Upgrade is Coming to The Second-Largest Crypto, Ethereum

    Victor Lei — Head of Research

    April 5, 2023

    April 5, 2023

    The world’s second-largest crypto by market cap, Ethereum ($ETH), is flirting around the $1.9K level — its highest level in nearly 8 months.

    • The token is up ~91% since last June (with lots of volatility along the way).
    • It’s managed to survive several crypto implosions, the collapse of FTX and March’s banking crisis.

    The next major event: Another major upgrade (Shanghai) is expected to arrive in April — completing its transition to proof-of-stake.

    What does the upgrade mean for $ETH holders?

    Staking allows users to lock up their $ETH to earn interest. With the upgrade, staked Ether can now be withdrawn.

    ~$34B (15% of the total ETH supply) will become available to sell — which could add selling pressure to the token.

    And it’s become one of the biggest debates in crypto: Will $ETH holders sell or not?

    The bear case: Selling pressure could come from crypto platforms (i.e., Kraken), which is facing scrutiny from US regulators. Celsius is also expected to sell their staked $ETH holdings as part of bankruptcy proceedings.

    The bull case: K33 Research doesn’t think a big selloff is coming — saying $2.4B could be sold — a small amount compared to 20% of $ETH’s daily trading volume.

    • Saxo Bank’s crypto analyst Max Eberhardt says the large share of ETH stakers are long-term holders unlikely to sell after the upgrade (CoinDesk).
    • The selling pressure could also be offset by buyers seeing $ETH as more attractive after the upgrade.

    Other ETH updates: The total supply of $ETH has fallen 0.118% since the merge last September.

    The token is now deflationary — like a company that only buys back its own stock or a deflationary currency (but we know those don’t exist).

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