Bullish Signal for Ethereum Amid Upcoming Shanghai Upgrade

Recent data from the on-chain metrics monitoring platform, Glassnode, reveals an increase in the number of addresses holding significant numbers of ETH tokens. According to the data aggregator, the number of wallet addresses with at least 0.01 ETH Coins has reached an eight-month high of 23,386,372.

? #Ethereum $ETH Number of Addresses Holding 0.01+ Coins just reached a 8-month high of 23,386,372

View metric:https://t.co/XXb0u19ouH pic.twitter.com/AfFNzUbPXG

— glassnode alerts (@glassnodealerts) March 27, 2023

This information from Glassnode covers only Externally Owned Addresses (EOAs). It does not include contracts.

The ETH resurgence is one of the crypto stories of 2023. Along with Bitcoin, Ethereum has led the cryptocurrency rally this year. As of the time of writing, ETH traded at $1,754, reflecting a 46.11% profit since the beginning of 2023.

Among several factors, crypto users recognize the upcoming Shanghai upgrade as a significant behind Ethereum’s increased adoption. It is an adjustment in the Ethereum protocol that will allow users to unstake their staked ETH, meaning that they can withdraw ETH tokens locked up for validation purposes on the Ethereum network.

Although there is yet to be an official date, users expect the Shanghai upgrade to happen sometime in April 2023. It will be the first significant change on the Ethereum network since the Merge, which saw the Ethereum protocol transition from a Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus algorithm to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) algorithm.

The Shanghai upgrade will introduce flexibility in the staking process, allowing ETH stakers more control over their tokens. This benefit is identified as one of the main attractions for ETH stakers, showing a preference for this new staking model to what they are used to in many other networks in the blockchain industry.

Other general benefits of the Shanghai upgrade include boosting transaction speeds for Ethereum network users while offering lower gas fees.

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