Bitcoin and Ethereum’s Shanghai Knights: Crypto markets brace for major ETH upgrade
Proactive Investors
Published Apr 05, 2023 08:45
Updated Apr 05, 2023 09:11
Bitcoin and Ethereum’s Shanghai Knights: Crypto markets brace for major ETH upgrade
Proactive Investors - In spite of an observable dip in trading volumes, bitcoin (BTC) remains doggedly determined to be among the better-performing asset classes as the second quarter kicks into gear.
After adding 1.3% to US$28,165 on Tuesday, the benchmark cryptocurrency added another 1.4% during Wednesday’s Asia trading hours, bringing it to US$28,525 at the time of writing.
Where to next for bitcoin (BTC)? – Source: currency.com
The BTC/USDT pair is being propped up by a weakened dollar, as traders weigh up a spate of softer US economic data.
US job openings, a bellwether of economic activity, in particular, have decreased. While the R-word means different things to different analysts, the recession question appears to be weighing on dollar strength.
The Bitcoin Fear & Greed Index remains, which measures volatility, market momentum and market dominance, remains firmly in the green, suggesting bullish appetite persists for the world’s largest cryptocurrency, even if that sentiment is not quite filtering through to the wider crypto market.
There’s no real telling where bitcoin will go from here, although lower trading volumes and stiff selling pressure at 29k present an undeniable bear case.
Ethereum (ETH), the market’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, has had a better showing than bitcoin of late.
ETH/USDT added 3.3% to US$1,870 yesterday before shooting as high as US$1,925 this morning; the best trading price since August 2022.
The prospect of smashing 2k must be tantalising for the ETH bulls, though they’ll have to contend with a substantial sell wall at US$1,950 first.
Ether is steering ahead in the run-up to the Shanghai hard fork, set to occur on April 12, which will unlock approximately 16 million ETH from staking contracts.
Despite all the rumour buying, there’s every chance that ETH could swing lower after the upgrade, should newly liberated ETH stakers decide to take profits.
In the meantime, the ETH/BTC pair is on a roll, having added 6% in the past week.
Down boy
Twitter’s surprise Dogecoin (DOGE) rebrand at the behest of Chief Twit Elon Musk sent the meme coin skyward in recent days.
DOGE remains the top weekly performer in the too-20 altcoin set at 27% higher, though the latest Musk rally is already showing signs of slowing down.
DOGE/USDT closed around a percentage point lower yesterday, while this morning’s session has been highly volatile with 6.5% amplitude swings. The meme coin is currently changing hands 1.6% higher at US$0.096.
Polkadot (DOT), Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Avalanche (AXAV) are all around 5% higher week on week, while Ripple (XRP)’s stellar performance of late seems to have trailed off, with 5% of losses racked up in the past seven days.
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Global crypto market cap hit US$1.2tn after adding 2.5% overnight, while total value locked in the decentralised finance (DeFi) space added 3% to exceed US$51bn for the first time in six week.
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