ETH/BTC Pair Hits Eight-Month Low

Ethereum’s price denominated in BTC has reached an eight-month low as investors show caution until the Shanghai upgrade of the Ethereum blockchain later this year.

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The market is concerned about a supply overhang, and the upgrade will allow locked ETH to be withdrawn for the first time.

The upcoming “Shanghai” upgrade, slated for September, will allow validators who operate the network to withdraw the 16 million staked ETH.

While the main focus of the upgrade is the implementation of Ethereum Improvement Proposal-4895 (EIP-4895), which unlocks validator withdrawals, the finalized update includes additional upgrades that will be noticeable to Ethereum app developers and users.

Validators stake 32 ETH to participate in the block validation process, and their staked ETH and rewards have been locked up until the Shanghai upgrade. Validators will finally be able to cash out their stake after the upgrade.

However, some crypto analysts suggest the supply increases will be spread over a few weeks or months, resulting in little selling pressure on a daily basis.

Weak sentiment due to unstaking could still put pressure on the price before the upgrade. On the positive side, the removal of the lock-in is expected to lead to more people staking their ETH, which will increase confidence with unstaking.

Bernstein predicts a gradual increase in staking penetration for Ethereum, with the Shanghai upgrade being a step in that direction.

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