Key Takeaways
- The Shapella hard fork led to over one million Ether worth $2.1 billion being withdrawn from ETH’s Beacon Chain within the first four days.
- Many early stakers who had been waiting for over 30 months to liquidate their stakes have also withdrawn their Ether, which has contributed to the surge in Ether’s price.
Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has been on a bull run since the start of this year, with its price increasing by over 200% since January 2021. However, the last week has been particularly significant for Ether, as it broke past the $2,100 mark for the first time in 11 months.
The surge in Ether’s price comes after the successful completion of the Shapella hard fork on April 12, which led to over one million Ether worth $2.1 billion being withdrawn from Ethereum’s Beacon Chain within the first four days.
The Shapella hard fork was a significant event for Ethereum, as it marked the transition from the proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism to the proof-of-stake (PoS) mechanism.
The move was aimed at making Ethereum more energy-efficient and scalable, as the PoS mechanism requires less computational power than the PoW mechanism. The transition to PoS also enables Ether holders to earn staking rewards by locking up their Ether in the Beacon Chain.
The recent spike in Ether’s price can be attributed to the increased demand for the crypto, as more investors look to stake their Ether in the Beacon Chain to earn staking rewards. Many early stakers who had been waiting for over 30 months to liquidate their stakes have also withdrawn their Ether, which has contributed to the surge in Ether’s price.
Additionally, the closure of Kraken’s staking services by the SEC may have contributed to the higher figures, as investors now have more visibility on the liquidity of staked positions.
The surge in Ether’s price is significant, not just for investors but also for the broader cryptocurrency market. Ether’s price has historically been closely correlated with Bitcoin’s price, with the two cryptocurrencies often moving in tandem. The recent surge in Ether’s price could indicate that the broader cryptocurrency market is entering a new bullish phase, with Bitcoin also breaking past the $60,000 mark in the last week.
Looking at the past performance of Ether, the crypto had come a long way since its inception in 2015, when it was trading at less than $1. In 2017, Ether experienced a massive surge in its price, peaking at over $1,400 in January 2018, before crashing down to below $100 by the end of that year.
The cryptocurrency market as a whole went through a prolonged bear market between 2018 and 2020, with Ether’s price remaining stagnant for most of that period. However, the recent surge in Ether’s price could indicate that the cryptocurrency is once again on a path of growth.
In conclusion, the recent surge in Ether’s price comes after the successful completion of the Shapella hard fork, which has led to increased demand for the cryptocurrency. While it is still unclear how much higher Ether’s price can go, the cryptocurrency’s recent performance is a positive sign for the broader cryptocurrency market, which has been facing unfavorable market conditions for some time.
