Ahead Of Shanghai Upgrade, The Price Of Ethereum (ETH) Even Drops

Ethereum cryptocurrency. (Photo; Doc. Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The price of the digital currency Ethereum (ETH) was observed to decline on April 11, ahead of the implementation of the Shanghai upgrade which is highly anticipated by crypto market players.

Down below 1,900 US dollars (IDR 28.2 million), the price of ETH was recorded at the lowest level of 1,888 US dollars (IDR 28 million) in a short time before recently. Judging by market data, this price change was still visible on April 12, where the price of ETH still lasted at the level of 1,895 US dollars (IDR 28.1 million).

However, the price loss for ETH is still relatively minor, only 1.0 percent in the last 24 hours. This fluctuation in ETH prices attracted attention because in the same period, the price of Bitcoin actually increased by 2.0 percent.

Likewise, the overall crypto market has increased by 1.0 percent in the last 24 hours, and several other top 10 tokens have also increased.

However, not all bad news for Ethereum holders. Public sentiment towards the Shanghai upgrade in general looks positive. This upgrade will allow validators to withdraw the ETH they have stolen, this is the first step in Ethereum's history.

Currently, there are about 18 million ETH at stake, with a value of about US$34 billion (around Rp505 trillion), a significant amount of Ethereum's market capitalization of US$227 billion (Rp3.3 quadrillion). If a large amount of ETH is drawn and included in circulation, this upgrade could potentially affect the price of ETH.

However, experts believe that not all amount of ETH at stake will be withdrawn in the long term, given the limited ETH re-taking mechanism. As a security measure, only about 1,800 validators are allowed to withdraw their respective ETHs per day, in order to avoid a significant impact on the market.

However, the uncertainty that may arise regarding the Shanghai upgrade is thought to be one of the factors that affected the decline in ETH prices that day. Some investors may have sold their ETH ahead of the Shanghai upgrade, resulting in a visible price drop.

Not only regarding the opening of the stakes, the Shanghai upgrade is also expected to bring a number of other improvements, such as the reduction in gas costs that Ethereum developers have to pay. Launching CryptoSlate, the Shanghai upgrade itself is scheduled to be implemented on April 12 at 22:27:35 UTC. Despite the uncertainty in the market, public sentiment generally remains positive for this increase.