Ethereum Rises Against Bitcoin As Shappella Upgrade Approaches
Ethereum (ETH) rallied around 5% over the past week against Bitcoin (BTC) as the community awaits the long awaited Shappella upgrade.
In the last 24 hours, ETH gained 2.11% against BTC, rising to as high as 0.067965 on Binance before settling back to 0.067965 at the time of writing.
The improved performance has seen ETH’s dominance rise to 19.84% for the first time since March 12, according to CryptoSlate’s data.
ETH’s USD value rises to an 8-month high
When denominated in US dollars, ETH’s value rose above $1,900 for the first time since May 2022.
However, the asset has rebounded to $1,894 at press time, according to CryptoSlate’s data.
The price movement continues its positive performance for 2023. ETH rose 7.1% in the last seven days and has risen 22% in the last month. Compared to the year to date, ETH is up approximately 60%.
Market sentiments around the Shappella upgrade
With the Shappella upgrade confirmed for April 12, market sentiment around ETH has turned largely positive, while some analysts believe the move will increase selling pressure on the cryptocurrency.
The Shappella upgrade would allow Ethereum actors to withdraw their staked tokens from the blockchain network.
Blockchain analytical company Nansen reported that the selling pressure on ETH from unstaking could be between $1.9 billion – $4.6 billion. According to the firm, this could damage the asset due to the relatively thin liquidity in the spot markets.
However, Nansen added that the positive effects of the Shanghai upgrade on ETH are likely to offset the initial selling pressure.
Meanwhile, another blockchain analytics firm Santiment pointed out that ETH’s exchange offer is currently at its lowest — 10.31%. The firm pointed out that investors favor self-custodial services for their assets.
Market analysts on Twitter have interpreted this as holders having great faith in ETH’s potential as a store of value. Since ETH completed its merger event in 2022, the asset has become deflationary and the volume held by long-term investors has increased.
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