Key Insights
- On 12 April, Ethereum investors will finally get access to their staked Ether (about 15% of all ether), worth about $33.73 billion.
- This will have some degree of impact on the rest of the market.
- A price dip on ETH may be technically unlikely but is still possible.
- The bullish price targets for Ethereum include 2,200, $2,800 and $3,000
- The bearish price targets for Ethereum include $1,860, $1,650 and $1,370
Less than 24 hours from now on 12 April, Ethereum investors will finally get access to more than $33 billion worth of $ETH, thanks to the Shapella Upgrade.
Starting from 12 April, investors will be able to redeem the “staked ether” they have locked up in the network over the last three years in exchange for fixed interest.
This upgrade comes seven months after The Merge, which was launched by Ethereum’s core developers to kickstart the network’s transition from proof of work to proof of Stake.
$2 billion ETH In The First Week
It is worth mentioning that about 15% of all ether is staked and that all of these tokens are worth a combined value of $33.73 billion, according to statistics from Dune Analytics.
For the first week after the Shapella upgrade, up to 1.1 million ether will be available for withdrawals, according to Sreejith Das, CEO of Attestant.
Based on the most recent Ether price of roughly $1,860, this would mean that a whopping $2 billion worth of Ether is expected to hit the market over the next few days, as shown by IntoTheBlock.
Make no mistake, this will have some degree of impact on the rest of the market.
But how big of an impact are we talking about here? And how is the price of Ethereum reacting to this upcoming event?
Let’s find out.
Ethereum Price Outlook
It is worth mentioning that a sudden and devastating price drop in Ethereum is unlikely.
Why?
First of all, a large percentage of the locked-up ether is currently lower in value at the moment, compared to when they were actually staked. This means that the investors receiving their staked coins may be disinclined to sell at losses.
Judging by this, a price dip in ETH may be technically unlikely but is still possible.
According to Ken Timsit of Cronos Labs, “ETH stakers will probably monitor withdrawals and may overreact in the short term if there is strong demand or signs pointing to big ETH liquidations.”.
This means that if a big player is short and ETH starts to decline, smaller players will follow suit, leading to an inevitable drop.
Ethereum Price Analysis
The Ethereum bulls have managed to hold off the bears from pushing ETH below its 20-day EMA (red line).
However, it now seems that Ether is struggling to break through the $2,000 zone.
This might be bad for ETH, considering the timing. At the time of writing, the cryptocurrency trades at $1,912 and is stuck between its 20-day EMA (red line) and the ascending trendline that acts as support around the $2,000 zone.
The bears are likely to be in wait around this zone and may take any price weakness after the Shapella upgrade, to push the price of ETH lower, below the $1,860 zone.
Conversely, if the bulls take action in time and ETH breaks through $2,000, a rally to the $2,200 zone or beyond will be the next line of action.
If the bulls also manage to break the $2,200 resistance, a rally to $2,800 or $3,000 is the next line of action
Price Targets
The bullish price targets for Ethereum include
- 2,200 (minor resistance, can easily be broken)
- $2,800
- $3,000
On the other hand, if Ethereum fails to break through $2,000 before the bears take action, it may fall to
- $1,860 from where it currently sits.
- $1,650 if $1,860 doesn’t hold
- $1,370
- Bulls will take full action for around $1,010. ETH is unlikely to go below.
Disclaimer: Voice of Crypto aims to deliver accurate and up-to-date information, but it will not be responsible for any missing facts or inaccurate information. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile financial assets, so research and make your own financial decisions.
