Crypto Week Ahead: ETH Shanghai Upgrade Looms On The Horizon

Over the past seven days, Bitcoin (BTC) price achieved a high of $28,667.89 .

Ethereum Shanghai Upgrade is scheduled to take place on April 12.

Source : Bastian Riccardi/Unsplash

Ethereum Shanghai Upgrade, one of the most-awaited crypto events this year, is scheduled to take place on April 12. While it is believed to help increase speed and reduce fees, the upgrade will also unlock ETH stakes worth $17 million. It is largely expected that the upgrade might lead to a boom in Ethereum prices. The overall crypto market cap saw a rise over the past week, with Bitcoin and Ethereum prices seeing a notable upswing as well. Here are certain pointers crypto traders should keep in mind in the coming week. 

Before we proceed further, readers should note that the overall crypto market and coin prices are extremely volatile in nature. There are no foolproof methods to ascertain how cryptocurrencies are expected to behave in the future. This article is aimed at helping investors stay on top of the current market scenarios and the biggest events that have already taken place as well as some upcoming occurrences that are worth noting. Investors are advised to do their own research before taking any call. 

Crypto Prices Over The Past Week

Last Monday (April 3), the overall crypto market cap stood at $1.16 trillion. Bitcoin (BTC) price stood at around $27,680, and Ethereum (ETH) price stood at around $1,775. 

A week later, the overall market cap managed to climb to $1.18 trillion, as per CoinMarketCap data. 

DeFi's total volume stands at $3.50 billion, at 11.44 percent of the total market 24-hour volume. In case of stablecoins, the overall volume stands at $26.82 billion, at 87.78 percent of the total 24-hour market volume.

BTC dominance, at the time of writing, stood at 46.18 percent.

Over the past seven days, Bitcoin achieved a high of $28,667.89 (on April 5) and a low of $26,468.35 (April 4), showcasing a relatively stable movement. 

Ethereum, on the other hand, saw a high of $1,921.77 (April 5) and a low of $1,778.52 (April 4), showing a stable movement as well.

Crypto Events To Note

On April 12, ETH enthusiasts will keep a keen eye on the much-awaited Ethereum Shanghai Upgrade. Also known as 'Ethereum Shanghai Fork', the upgrade is a series of changes in the Ethereum blockchain network, which are believed to have decisive economic effects on the customers, investors, and the organisation itself.

The biggest impact of the upgrade will be seen in the unlocking of stakes. Over $17 million Ether remained staked until March this year, following the Ethereums' Merge event in 2022. The imminent upgrades will ensure the complete unlocking of these stakes. Although the customers can withdraw amounts, there will be a limitation of ETH 43,200 per day. This also means that validators will not migrate at a large scale from the network. 

After scheduled Shanghai upgrades, the transaction speed is expected to increase and fees might get reduced. The changes could lead to better performance and flexible staking for the stakeholders. However, given the overall volatility of the market, we will have to wait until the upgrade takes place to truly understand its impact on the market. 

What Crypto Traders Are Saying About Current Market Scenario

Mudrex co-founder and CEO Edul Patel told ABP Live, “Bitcoin has begun the new week with a surge trading above the $28,000 level, following the addition of 236,000 jobs by the US the previous month. BTC seems to be caught between an upward trendline that started at the $28,000 range and the $30,000 price region. Meanwhile, Ethereum traded relatively flat over the weekend, anticipating the Shanghai update this week that could bring in some volatility, but significant sell-offs may be unlikely. Overall, the market sentiment looks positive at the moment.”

WazirX Vice President Rajagopal Menon offered his take, “Over the last week, BTC saw a marginal decrease of 1.4 percent and it is currently trading at $28,293.19. Ethereum had a minimal price increase over the week due to the upcoming Shanghai Upgrade. Dogecoin had a great run in the beginning of the week, finally closing with an 8 percent price increase. SushiSwap protocol suffered $3.3 million in losses due to a smart contract exploitation. Switzerland’s government-backed bank PostFinance announced crypto B2B services for customers.” 

Disclaimer: Crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and can be highly risky. There may be no regulatory recourse for any loss from such transactions. Cryptocurrency is not a legal tender and is subject to market risks. Readers are advised to seek expert advice and read offer document(s) along with related important literature on the subject carefully before making any kind of investment whatsoever. Cryptocurrency market predictions are speculative and any investment made shall be at the sole cost and risk of the readers.