The Ethereum network has experienced a surge in Ether and other alternative cryptocurrencies thanks to the successful rollout of the Shapella upgrade. This has sparked a flurry of activity on Crypto Twitter, as traders and investors speculate on the future of these assets.
In the past 24 hours, Ether has risen by over 10%, trading at its highest point in 11 months, with a value above $2,120 during Asian trading hours. The Shapella upgrade, released on Thursday, has had a significant impact on the Ethereum network. It has allowed users to stake and unstack tokens at will, which has improved the overall outlook of the network.
The governance tokens of liquid staking protocols, such as Lido’s LDO and Rocket Pool’s RPL, have seen significant gains due to the Shapella upgrade. These protocols lock billions of dollars to provide yields on Ether staking, allowing users to stake any amount of Ether and earn rewards while retaining the liquidity of locked coins through derivative tokens. This can be done without putting up the required 32 Ether to run a validator node.
Lido’s staked Ether tokens (STETH) have also climbed into the top ten cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, with $12 billion worth of Ether currently locked on the protocol. According to Valerie Tetu, the head of the strategy at Lido Finance, the Shapella upgrade has increased users’ confidence. “Staking withdrawals enabled by the Shanghai upgrade represent a significant milestone in the Ethereum blockchain development,” Tetu said in an email. “Withdrawals will allow stakers to participate in securing the network with more confidence while increasing the capital efficiency of the tokens they decide to allocate.”
Meanwhile, Dogecoin (DOGE) has risen for the second consecutive day, following the announcement that eToro will offer crypto trading directly from Twitter. This has fueled speculation that Dogecoin will eventually be adopted for use as payment on the social media platform. Elon Musk, a vocal supporter of Dogecoin, has expressed his support for the network’s development on several occasions.
Cardano (ADA) has also seen a surge in value, with an increase of almost 9% due to the network’s real growth, including broader support for decentralized application (dapp) development.
Many market observers predict the rally will continue over the next few weeks. Ilya Volkov, the co-founder of the crypto services platform YouHodler, believes that ETH will continue to trend upward if the macro situation does not worsen. Although selling pressure is expected to increase due to unlocking liquidity in the coming weeks, Volkov suggests that the current trend is unlikely to change.