Key takeaways
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The Ethereum network completed the Shanghai upgrade on Wednesday, allowing users to unstake their ETH coins.
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ETH is up by more than 6% in the last 24 hours and is now trading close to the $2k level for the first time this year.
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Ether is outperforming the other major cryptocurrencies.
Ethereum network completes the Shanghai upgrade
The Ethereum network has completed its long-awaited Shanghai upgrade, ushering in an era of staking withdrawals on the blockchain.
The Shanghai hard fork was completed at 22:27 UTC and finalised at about 22:42 UTC. The Ethereum community considers the upgrade a huge milestone as it completes Ethereum’s migration to a proof-of-stake protocol.
Thanks to the Shanghai upgrade, Ethereum users can now unstake their ETH coins on the blockchain. During the Shapella Mainnet Watch Party hosted by Ethereum Cat Herders, Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of the Ethereum blockchain, revealed that the hardest and fastest parts of the Ethereum protocol’s transition are basically over.
He added that the Ethereum network will now be focusing on scaling (enabling faster transactions) following this upgrade. Buterin stated that;
“If we don’t fix scaling before the next bull run, we know people are going to be stuck paying $500 transactions. If, on the other hand, we don’t have Verkle Trees before the next bull run, well, things might suck, but you know, it’s a much smaller problem than, you know, $500 transactions, right?”
Ether closes in on the $2k psychological level
Ether, the native coin of the Ethereum network, has been rallying following the Shanghai upgrade. ETH is up by more than 6% in the last 24 hours and is closing in on the $2k level.
At press time, the price of Ethereum stands at $1,983, the highest it has reached since August 2022. The technical indicators show that ETH could rally higher in the near term.
The MACD line is within the positive region, indicating that the bulls are currently in charge of the Ethereum market. The RSI of 74 also shows that Ether could enter the oversold region in the near term.
If the bullish trend continues, ETH could break past the $2,031 resistance level over the next few hours. In the event of an extended rally, ETH could trade above the $2,160 level for the first time since May 2022.
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