Bitcoin (BTC) prices hovering above $52,000 and despite resistance at $52,800, Ethereum (ETH) price has reached the $3,000 level for the first time since 2022. Ethereum’s notable performance could be driven by multiple catalysts such as the excitement around spot ETFs, the Dencun upgrade, the Bitcoin halving, and the deflationary nature of Ethereum following its own upgrade. Due to the popularity of the transaction fee burning program, the circulating supply of ETH is contracting.
Ethereum’s $3,000 Level Breakthrough
The transition from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake could mean that a portion of the fees earned by validators are burned or removed from circulation. This, along with the increase in staked Ethereum, creates a supply and demand imbalance that continues to drive the uptrend. The developers of the second-largest cryptocurrency network are working to initiate the Dencun upgrade. The network will also introduce proto-danksharding, a feature that will reduce transaction fees and data availability costs for Layer 2 chains.
Dencun will also implement various Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) to increase the network’s scalability, efficiency, and security. Expected to be launched on the mainnet in March, Dencun is a combination of the Cancun and Deneb upgrades, which will respectively upgrade Ethereum’s execution and consensus layers. Many analysts and investors are warming up to the idea that Ethereum is strengthening due to the Dencun upgrade.
Expert Views on ETH’s Performance
Michael van de Poppe, the founder of MN Trading Consultancy, argues that the rotation of funds from Bitcoin could contribute to ETH’s continued rise, especially if BTC encounters a “short-term peak”. After Ethereum’s price closed above a significant weekly resistance since March 2022, it could signal a stronger bullish outlook in both the short and long term. However, the cryptocurrency faced a blockade at the $3,000 level, which could lead to a minor pullback to accumulate liquidity.
Furthermore, ETH traded at the $2,920 level with the support of the 0.5 Fibonacci level during the day. According to analysts, various technical indicators, ranging from moving averages to the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator, show that Ethereum’s bullish trend is set to continue. Analysts believe that a successful retest of the $3,000 level in Ethereum could trigger FOMO, leading more investors to buy in and push the trend towards $4,000 and eventually to all-time highs.