On-chain intelligence platform Glassnode has predicted that around 170,000 Ether (ETH), worth roughly $323 million, will be unlocked within the first week of the Shanghai hard fork being executed on Ethereum. The figure will comprise 100,000 ETH in staking rewards and 70,000 ETH in staked Ether hitting the market. Glassnode explained that only 253 depositors are waiting to exit their stake and that a few mechanisms are in place to prevent a flood of Ether supply from hitting the market all at once. The hard fork is scheduled for 12 April and will enable the withdrawal of staked Ethereum. (Cointelegraph)

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With the much-awaited Shapella (Shanghai) upgrade just hours away, the value of staked Ethereum with unrealized losses has decreased significantly.

An Ethereum transformation is on the horizon, and no one is sure how the market will respond. In time the “Shanghai” upgrade may be remembered as a uniquely bullish event for ether (ETH), the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market value.

Ethereum is set to upgrade the software network on Wednesday with new features and improvements to efficiency, cost, and security. The main feature of the upgrade is the EIP-4895, which allows users to withdraw their staked Ether, or tokens deposited to support the operations of a blockchain in return for a passive income, usually in the form of more tokens. With about 18 million Ether – or about 15% of the total supply – staked into the network, concerns emerged that holders could rush to sell Ether to lock in profits, which would drive prices lower. However, on-chain data provider CryptoQuant doesn’t expect a flood of Ether sales. Other benefits of the upgrade include Ethereum’s capacity to handle more transactions per second, decreased transaction costs, and improved security and efficiency of smart contracts. The staking landscape will be transformed, and Ethereum will become the benchmark yield for crypto. (forkast)

M11 Credit anticipates that the upcoming Ethereum Shanghai upgrade, ongoing regulatory pressure, and existing macro risks may increase volatility in the cryptocurrency market.

Ether (ETH), the native token of the Ethereum blockchain, circled above $1,900 for much of Wednesday a week before the Shanghai hard fork.

With Ethereum's upcoming Shapella hard fork, which will allow users to withdraw their "staked ether", there are concerns that holders may rush to exchanges to liquidate their tokens, resulting in a couple of billion dollars of selling pressure. The fear is that 1.1 million ETH related to partial reward withdrawals could face the market, while bankrupt crypto lender Celsius may liquidate its staking balance of 158,176 ETH to recover at least a portion of creditors' funds. San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is also likely to unstake all ETH staked by US investors. However, the expected supply boost of more than $2 billion amounts to just 20% of ether's average daily trading volume, and the selling pressure will likely be distributed over several days, allowing buyers to match the selling pressure. Additionally, a large share of ether stakers are long-term investors and are unlikely to liquidate their holdings after the upgrade.

Ether (ETH) has gained 6% in the last 24 hours ahead of the Ethereum blockchain's Shanghai upgrade, according to a research report by Bernstein. The upgrade, scheduled for April 12, will enable the withdrawal of staked ether. The report notes that almost 70% of staked ether is via liquid staking protocols such as Lido, allowing investors to sell their stETH regardless, and the remaining staked ether has been directly staked into the beacon chain. The ability to deposit and withdraw ether easily gives more confidence for holders to stake, and those on the sidelines are more likely to stake now, the report added.

Ether (ETH) has surpassed $1,900 for the first time in over seven months, ahead of the Ethereum Shanghai hard fork set to take place on April 12. The hard fork will implement EIP-4895, allowing validators and stakers to withdraw staked ETH from the beacon chain. The recent price increase could be driven by expectations of the Fed easing up on its quantitative tightening efforts or by increased demand for Ether due to staking becoming more flexible. While Bitcoin has also recorded gains in recent days, ETH/BTC has increased by nearly 3% in the last week, suggesting both factors may be contributing to Ether's price jump. The execution of The Merge in Sept. 2022 caused ETH's price to drop sharply, but the impact of the Shanghai and Capella updates is currently speculation.