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Since Ethereums highly anticipated proof-of-stake update, Shapella, completed smoothly, and the market price of ether shot up over $2,000 per token, crypto developers are even more optimistic about the future of Web3.

And though we may see increased selling pressures in the coming weeks for fear the upgrade will attract regulators attention, the current state of staked ETH holdings seems to indicate stability.

According to research published by BeInCrypto this month 60% of all staked ETH is held at a loss, including the holdings at Lido DAODAO. Holding approximately 30% of all staked ETH at an average loss of over $1,000 per token, this would seem to work against excessive selling, which normally occurs when investors are sitting on relatively large gains. So, if the Shapella upgrade is not primed to lead to forced selling of staked ETH, what are some of the implications of this upgrade?

Lets take a look at a few of the reasons why this most recent upgrade may cause a boom period for Ethereum development and innovation.

The Ethereum 2.0 upgrade process has been underway for years, and some validators have had staked ether locked up for multiple years at this point. A major component of the Shapella upgrade is that for first time users can withdraw these funds in one of two ways. A partial withdrawal allows users to withdraw the block rewards that have accumulated over time and have been taxed even though they have not been accessible that are in excess of the 32 ETH balance necessary to run a validating node. A full withdrawal, as the name indicates, would allow users to withdrawal the totality of staked ETH.

In any case this Shapella upgrade will create a more liquid and easily tradeable marketplace for ETH going forward, which will help developers, investors, and innovators create more robust and differentiated products.

Estimates vary, but over the coming week there are going to be tens of billions in ether that, after being locked up in staking protocols for various lengths of time, will be released to these users. In addition to increasing liquidity and market depth for traders, this will also mean there will be literally more ETH available for developers and innovators seeking to build new applications running on the Ethereum blockchain.

Every cryptoasset faces the following price paradox; if investors and the market in general believes that the price of this token will increase dramatically over a period of time, the likelihood of this same token being used as fuel, or gas for applications will dimmish. With limited volatility resulting from this upgrade, sentiment seems to indicate that developers will be more comfortable building more non-financial and non-speculative applications using ETH going forward.

With the Ethereum blockchain already forming the bedrock of many Layer 2 and Web3 applications and use cases, having a more liquid market for these tokens will invariably make it simpler and faster to continue these existing trends.

One additional benefit to this upgrade, the subsequent releasing of staked ether, and refocusing on this token in particular, is that it will reignite the conversations that had previously occurred around the topic of classification. Crypto regulation is a hotly debated and contentious topic, with many bemoaning the regulation-by-edict approach that Gary Gensler seems to be taking at the Securities and Exchange Commission. That said, and accompanied by pressure by some lawmakers for additional clarity into how these decisions are being made, Ethers rising prominence might force regulatory issues back onto the front burner.

Specifically, the treatment of staking rewards, and the staking process overall, has been a contentious topic between some in the tax community. Under current U.S. tax guidance, staking rewards are taxed upon creation, even if these rewards were unable to be accessed previously. As these rewards and assets become more widely traded, able to be reinvested into other projects, and better understood by institutions and individuals alike, regulators will hopefully be forced to take a more productive stance.

The Shapella upgrade has been a long time coming, was successfully completed, and has altered the ETH landscape in significant ways moving forward. Investors, developers, and regulators alike should take notice.

I am a professor at the City University of New York Lehman College. I serve on the Advisory Board of the Wall Street Blockchain Alliance, where I chair the Accounting Work Group. I am also the chairperson of the NJCPA's Emerging Technologies Interest Group (#NJCPATech). I sit on the Advisory Board of Gilded, a TechStars 19 company and AICPA-CPA.com startup accelerator participant. I was a Visiting Research Fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research during 2019.

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Ethereum Upgrade: How Shapella Could Expand Crypto Adoption - Forbes

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The Shanghai and Capella upgrades, collectively known as Shapella, which enabled unstaking for the first time since ETH staking was introduced in December 2020, went live last week precisely on April 12.

In general, the Ethereum network has seen withdrawals in the last five days, taken from the date of the Shapella upgrade. Colin Wu of Wu Blockchain reports that the total amount of Ethereum withdrawn as of April 17 at 10:00 a.m. UTC+8 surpassed 1 million, while 368,000 ETH were deposited.

Wu reported that the number of Ethereum waiting to be withdrawn is 892,000, with Kraken and Huobi contributing more to the pressure. Lido Exchange, which holds 33% of staked ETH, has not yet opened withdrawals.

On-chain analytics firm Lookonchain provides an in-depth analysis of the ETH withdrawals, including the amount truly sold off and the amount restaked.

According to Lookonchain, a total of 1,024,099 ETH worth $2.15 billion have been withdrawn. Of this, Lookonchain finds that 158,592 ETH worth $333 million were sold off after the Shapella upgrade.

Meanwhile, some addresses restaked ETH after withdrawing, with a total of 34,198 ETH worth $72 million staked.

Following the Shapella upgrade last week, the price of Ethereum (ETH) has remained stable. Ethereum surpassed the $2,000 threshold, peaking at $2,142 on April 16.

Since reaching a low of $1,369 on March 10, Ether has been steadily increasing in value. At the time of writing, ETH had increased slightly over the previous 24 hours to $2,083.

The Ethereum blockchain's successful upgrade provided better-than-anticipated Ether price movement. The market, however, continues to keep a look out on the Ethereum price to see if profit-taking ensues.

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1 Million Ethereum (ETH) Withdrawn Since Shapella, Here's How Price Reacted - U.Today

A pair of giant whales are conducting big transactions on the Ethereum (ETH) network, on-chain data sleuths report.

According to blockchain tracking firm Lookonchain, two whales each staked 8 figures worth of ETH and Staked Ethereum (stETH) early on Monday.

Lookonchain says the two whales staked their coins through Agility, a liquid staking derivatives (LSDs) and trading platform.

We noticed 2 giant whales staked 29,073 stETH ($60.7M) and 26,550 ETH ($55.4M) via Agility LSD.

Whale 0x3f34 staked 18,694 stETH($39M) and 11,550 ETH($24M).

CZSamSun staked 10,379 stETH($21.7M) and 15,000 ETH($31.4M).

One of the wallets, labeled as CZSamsun, has over $193 million in assets, according to Web3 portfolio tracker Debank. The other wallet has $93 million, according to Debank.

Lookonchain also recently tracked down wallets sending money to crypto exchange Binance to scoop up Ethereum scaling solution Loopring (LRC) and Fantom (FTM), one of the ETHs biggest rivals.

According to the firm, a whale sent Tether (USDT) to Binance and picked up nearly $1 million worth of FTM and over $3 million worth of LRC to add to its big stacks.

A whale transferred USDT to Binance to buy FTM and LRC.

The whale received 7.56M LRC($3.1M) and 1.84M FTM($981K) ~1 hr ago.

Currently holding 9.75M $FTM ($5.2M) and 9.3M $LRC ($3.8M).

The buying cost of mFTM is ~$0.4040, and the buying cost of LRC is ~$0.4157.

At time of writing, Ethereum is trading at $2,079, while FTM is trading for $0.523 and LRC is going for $0.40.

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Giant Ethereum (ETH) Whales Move Over $110,000,000 in Crypto As Markets Stall Heres What Theyre U... - The Daily Hodl

Investors are closely monitoring the cryptocurrency market as the Big Eyes Coin (BIG) presale nears its end. The recent announcement of Ethereums Shanghai Upgrade, anticipated to bring major changes to the platform, has led to a slight rise in the prices of both Ethereum and Bitcoin (BTC). Despite fluctuations in the market, the Big Eyes Coin project remains in the spotlight, with investors showing enthusiasm to witness its development, particularly upon the tokens launch on an exchange.

The team responsible for Big Eyes Coin has announced that the presale will conclude on June 3rd. The impressive success of the digital asset has made history by raising over $33 million, making it the biggest meme coin presale to date. This accomplishment indicates a growing interest in meme-inspired cryptocurrencies and emphasizes their potential to attract significant investment and support from the crypto community.

To reward its investors, the digital asset is offering a 250% bonus to those who use the code BULLRUN250 as the presale comes to an end. The project has also initiated a promotional campaign with Loot Boxes, which offers users a chance to win a prize worth the same or more than what they paid to open the box. These promotions are aimed at attracting more investors and building a strong community around the Big Eyes Coin project while also recognizing those who have already supported it.

Big Eyes Coin is dedicated to social responsibility and sustainability by setting aside 5% of its total supply to support ocean conservation efforts. This action distinguishes Big Eyes Coin from other meme-inspired coins and demonstrates the projects goal of making a positive impact on the world.

This week, the Ethereum blockchain networks impending update prompted a continuation of the upward trend for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoins value experienced a 1% increase in the past 24 hours, bringing it close to the highest levels observed since last summer, but still below the brief peak of nearly $29,500 achieved last week with a current value of approximately $28,550.

While Bitcoins value has grown by over 70% this year, resulting in speculation of a new bull market, recent trading has been marked by price stagnation and volatile fluctuations.

With the Ethereum Shanghai and Capella upgrades scheduled for April 12th, all eyes are on ETH with just one week remaining until the event. Crypto analysts are optimistic about this upgrade as it has the potential to enhance transaction efficiency on the Ethereum blockchain.

Despite the regulatory actions and rumors circulating against exchanges, Ethereum showed its strength by reaching a seven-month high of $1,922 on April 5th, solidifying its position as the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.

Some analysts believe that Ethers ability to exceed resistance levels suggests a potential price target of $3,000 in Q2 2023. Analytics provider Santiment reports that whale accumulation remained strong in March, increasing by 0.5%.

As for investment options, while the upcoming upgrades to Bitcoin and Ethereums blockchain networks are driving their respective price surges, its essential to note that Big Eyes Coin is also a promising option, considering its launch date is quickly approaching.

With the presale already raising over $33 million, the code BULLRUN250 providing investors a 250% bonus, and the coins commitment to allocating 5% of its total supply to ocean conservation, Big Eyes Coin has already shown remarkable potential in the crypto market.

Presale: https://buy.bigeyes.space/

Website: https://bigeyes.space/

Telegram: https://t.me/BIGEYESOFFICIAL

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Bitcoin And Ethereum Are Prepared For The Shanghai Upgrade ... - Analytics Insight

Bitcoin (BTC) is often considered an inflation hedge and recent market behavior seems to support this belief. ARK Invest CEO, Cathie Wood, said that Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) are behaving like risk-off assets amid financial uncertainty. According to Wood, BTCs resilience during the banking crisis is one of the most impressive indicators.

Wood believed that Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) will disrupt the traditional world order. Both assets can be considered like gold because investors are using them as flight to safety assets, she added. According to Wood, cryptocurrencies will eventually be raised during elections. As the sector becomes more widely accepted, the public would want to see regulatory measures by the US government. However, not everyone is sold on the idea that BTC and ETH behave like gold.

American billionaire, Ray Dalio, however, does not share Woods sentiment. Dalio feels Bitcoin (BTC) is neither an effective store hold of wealth nor a medium of exchange. BTC has volatility, which Dalio mentioned, and has no relation to anything. Because of this reason, Dalio says that BTC is a poor alternative to gold. Dalio is the founder of Bridgewater Associates, the worlds largest hedge fund by assets under management.

Dalio has previously called Bitcoin one hell of an invention. However, the American billionaire seems to have changed his stance on the original cryptocurrency.

Regardless of opinions, one cannot thwart Bitcoin and Ethereums performance, compared to traditional assets. BTC has made gains of over 80% since January 2023, eclipsing the S&P 500s 7.7% growth so far in 2023. Although BTC has its fair share of problems, there is no denying its position as the best-performing asset, amid the financial challenges that the world is going through.

At press time, Bitcoin (BTC) was trading at $29,976.74, down 1.3% in 24 hours, while Ethereum was trading at $2,100.13, with no change in the 24-hour charts.

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Are Bitcoin And Ethereum Like "Gold," Or a "Poor Alternative"? - Watcher Guru