The Ethereum (ETH) ecosystem has successfully transitioned to a proof-of-stake (PoS) mechanism with the Shapella/Shanghai upgrade achieved at epoch 194048 at 22.27 UTC on April 12.
The upgrade is a significant milestone for the Ethereum network, as it moves away from the previous proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism to a more energy-efficient PoS mechanism.
Ether Price Up 2.8% in Past 24 Hours
Following the upgrade, the Ether price is up approximately 2.8% in the past 24 hours to trade around $1,924 on Thursday. The weekly bar is retesting last August’s highs, which are considered a significant resistance level.
Analysts Monitor On-Chain Data for Withdrawals
With withdrawals of the 18 million staked Ether estimated at around 50,400 ETH daily, crypto analysts are closely monitoring the on-chain data to identify the pressure of sell and buy. According to data provided by token.unlock, about 695,750 Ether is currently pending withdrawal.
Withdrawals Underway
Following the successful Shapella upgrade, on-chain analysis platform Spot On Chain identified 17,091 Ethers worth approximately $32 million withdrawn from the staking program. The firm noted that the first 5,757 ETH have already been processed. This comes after the firm identified several ETH whale transactions that depicted bearish sentiment.
Nonetheless, Twitter user @LucasNuzzi has identified big spot orders on Coinbase that are perhaps responsible for the recent spike.
Related: Coinbase Exchange Review 2023: Is it safe? Pros, Cons, And More!
Withdrawals Could Heighten in Coming Days
Following the pressure from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on centralized exchanges, staked Ethereum withdrawals could heighten in the coming days. According to data from Nansen, Huobi ranks first among the entities awaiting the withdrawal of staked ethers. PieDAO, Kraken, and Heavy Dex Trader 0xa3d are other top entities seeking withdrawal of staked ether.
Withdrawal Processing Time
Nevertheless, crypto exchange Binance has cautioned that withdrawal of staked Ether could take up to 15 days to several weeks to be fully processed.
Consequently, liquid staking programs like Lido DAO – LDO is up 6.4% today to trade around $2.36 – are expected to gain more traction ahead.
