Bullish on Ethereum, survey shows community predicts new all-time high in 2023
According to a recent survey conducted by OKX, the second largest global crypto exchange by trading volume, a significant majority of the Ethereum (ETH) community expects an increase in ETH stakes around the time of the Shapella upgrade. More importantly, the majority predicts that ETH’s price will reach a new all-time high.
The Ethereum community is bullish for the coming months
The survey conducted by OKX provides insight into Ethereum’s community expectations for the future of the network. According to the survey, most of the respondents expect an increase in ETH stakes in the next three months, driven in part by the upcoming Shapella upgrade; more precisely 83% of respondents believe this theory.
In terms of price predictions, 63% of respondents believe that ETH will reach a new record high of over $5,000 by the end of 2023. However, there is some disagreement among respondents on how ETH’s price will react to the Shapella upgrade. 59% expect the price to continue to rise before and after the upgrade, and 20% expect a period of sideways movement.
When asked specifically about ETH’s price in June 2023, 33% of respondents expect it to be above the current six-month high of $2,000, but below the 12-month high of $3,000. Meanwhile, 34% predict ETH to be below $2,000, while 33% believe it will be at least $3,100.
ETH Staking is growing in popularity
According to the survey, as of April 5, 2023, 17.9 million ETH had been staked on the Ethereum network. This represents a significant value, equivalent to over $34 billion, and highlights the growing popularity of ETH staking to generate passive income in the industry.
Additionally, investors staking their ETH can earn an annual percentage rate (APR) of 4.64% on their holdings. However, as the pool of ETH staked increases, the APR decreases, reflecting the increasing competition among players for rewards.
According to OKX, it plans to start processing withdrawal requests for staked ETH within one week of the Shapella upgrade being published to meet the growing demand for ETH staking.
The survey was conducted by OKX at the ETH Denver conference between March 1 and 5, 2023, and included 700 participants, including ETH traders, investors and network developers, according to OKX.
Overall, the growing popularity of ETH staking and the growing amount of value being staked on the Ethereum network reflects the growing maturity and adoption of the nascent industry in recent months, along with the confidence investors have regained with the lull of crypto winter.
ETH is trading sideways at $1,850, representing a 0.6% decline over the past 24 hours. However, the cryptocurrency is still holding on to the gains it made over the past 7 days, with a 3.5% gain over the seven-day time frame.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView.com
