The highly anticipated Ethereum Shanghai Upgrade, set to take place on April 12, is the talk of the cryptocurrency community. With the upgrade enabling the withdrawal of over $33 billion staked Ether over time, this event is expected to have a significant impact on the market. Coinciding with the release of CPI data from the United States Bureau of Labour Statistics, Wednesday’s upgrade is sure to make waves in the coming days.
Brace yourselves for a surge in Ethereum’s volatility, with experts predicting it may hit $2,000. Read on to find out more about what to expect from this major crypto event.
Sell Pressure Anticipated
With over 1.1 million Ether estimated to be available for withdrawal on Wednesday from the beacon staking program, sell pressure could be heightened further with the thinning crypto liquidity.
Was The Staking Program Manipulated?
According to a famous Ethereum educator and angel investor Sassal.eth, the Ethereum staking and validator program is heavily manipulated based on recent data. Notably, the total amount Ethereum staked on the beacon chain has increased exponentially in the recent past to reach 18 million from over 563k validators.
“I’ve been checking the Beacon Chain all this time, avoiding noise from Twitter. The way the upward movement of validators is happening, the way more ETH is being staked… it clearly looks manipulated, with no real demand. Once again, the biggest staking trap I’ve ever seen. But they won’t trap me,” Sassal noted.
Earlier during the weekend, Sassal stated that he is bearish on the crypto market.
Woke up bearish
— sassal.eth 🦇🔊 (@sassal0x) April 9, 2023
Gm
Lido DAO Dominates ETH Staking
The Ethereum staking program is heavily controlled by Lido DAO which accounts for approximately 33.3 per cent of the total staked Ethers. Liquid staking products are the largest investors in the Ethereum ETH validator programs. Nevertheless, their future remains bleak from a retail perspective as withdrawals of Ether get enabled on Wednesday.
On the other hand, Ethereum liquid staking programs are a favourite among institutional and whale investors as they pool resources to have larger control over the beacon chain voting activities.
Also Read: Ethereum Price May Experience ‘Sell The News’ Trend Ahead Of Shanghai Upgrade! Here’s What On-Chain Data Says