With the highly anticipated Shanghai-Capella (Shapella) upgrade of the Ethereum network set to take place on April 12, investors are speculating on whether the value of ETH will fall after withdrawals of staked Ethereum become enabled. While some analysts consider a massive selloff of ETH to be a possibility after the Shanghai mainnet upgrade, others believe that the ETH price will remain stable and even surpass $2000.
When Is the Ethereum Shanghai Mainnet Upgrade?
According to Ethereum core developers, the Ethereum Shanghai mainnet upgrade is scheduled at epoch 194048 on April 12 at 10:27:35 PM UTC.
18.14 Million ETH Staked on Beacon Chain
As per the Etherscan Beacon Deposit Contract data, over 18.14 million ETH worth $34.76 billion have been staked on the Beacon chain. However, only some of this ETH will be withdrawn by validators and investors due to limits, delays by liquid staking pools, and delays by crypto exchanges.
Staked ETH at Risk of Selling Pressure
Nansen data reveals that the average price of staked ETH is $2,135. Additionally, about 4.7 million ETH worth $9 billion are illiquid in profit, which is the category most likely to witness selling when withdrawals are enabled after the Shanghai upgrade.
As a result, ETH worth $9 billion out of $34 billion are at risk of a selloff, indicating a likelihood of selling pressure on ETH price.
Factors Supporting Low Selling Pressure on ETH Price
CoinGape Media earlier reported two factors supporting low selling pressure after the Shanghai upgrade. Firstly, most participants are at a loss. Secondly, the largest Ethereum staking pool’s depositors are also at a loss.
Furthermore, the largest Ethereum liquid staking platform, Lido Finance, announced that Lido staked ETH (stETH) withdrawals will likely be delayed until May due to delays in readiness for the Ethereum Shanghai Goerli upgrade caused by time spent on undertaking V2 audits.
Binance also announced a delay in withdrawals of staked ETH from the crypto exchange for a week after the Shanghai upgrade.
ETH Price Moving Towards $2000
Despite the concerns regarding selling pressure on ETH price, Ethereum (ETH) price is currently moving closer to $2000 after renewed positive sentiment in the crypto market as Bitcoin price hit $30,000 after 10 months.
ETH price is trading at $1,921, up 4% in the last 24 hours, with a 24-hour high of $1,936. The trading volume has also jumped 65% in the last 24 hours, indicating a rise in interest among traders.
