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The head of research at blockchain analytics firm IntoTheBlock is giving his perspective on what the brand new Ethereum (ETH) upgrade will mean for crypto traders.
In part two of his in-depth analysis on the transition to Ethereum 2.0, blockchain researcher Lucas Outumuro shares his thoughts on Ethereum’s Altair upgrade that officially launched on October 27th.
Altair lays the groundwork for Ethereum’s merge into a proof-of-stake system, which will reduce ETH issuance.
“Ethereum is an ever-evolving infrastructure for decentralized applications. As the demand for a myriad of use cases blossoms, Ethereum has envisioned a path towards a more secure, scalable and environmentally friendly network.
Through the Altair upgrade, Ethereum sets the base for this vision, enabling the upcoming merge of the proof-of-work chain and the Beacon Chain. Finally, these are expected to benefit Ether holders and stakers by making it deflationary while offering higher returns to validators.”
Outumuro also highlights that after implementing Altair, ETH issuance is anticipated to drop by 90%, which will create immense supply pressure and push ETH’s price higher as tokens fall from circulation.
“Following the merge, ETH’s issuance is expected to drop by 90%, with a supply peak around 120 million and slow decrease henceforth. This ties back in with EIP-1559, which introduced the base fee and effectively removes Ether from circulation as the Ethereum blockchain becomes more used.
The transition to Ether becoming deflationary is anticipated to create upwards price pressure as its supply will decrease as demand increases.”
With the release of Altair, the full merge to Ethereum 2.0 is one step closer. Based on the most recent meeting of Ethereum core developers, the initial goal of next March for the subsequent upgrade seems overly optimistic, with Q2 of 2022 a more likely timeline.