The Ethereum (ETH) ecosystem has significantly demonstrated its resilience after retaining its position as the second most valuable crypto asset over the years. The successful transition to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mechanism from Proof-of-Work (PoW) via the merge last year showcased its dominance.
However, the Ethereum ecosystem is about to be tested again amid an anticipated altcoin rally through the Shanghai Upgrade. Notably, over 17.9 million Ethers staked by about 562k validators will be available for withdrawal from April 12.
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With a significant portion of the staked ether at loss compared to staking time, analysts forecast most validators will continue locking their assets until investments break even.
Shanghai Upgrade To Increase Sell Pressure
Over 1.1 million Ether have been awarded to Ethereum validators and will be available for immediate withdrawal after the Shanghai Upgrade. As a result, analysts at K33 Research said in a note to clients on Tuesday that selling pressure could heighten within the next few weeks. Additionally, the researchers at K33 highlighted the staked Ether by bankrupt Celsius, which could liquidate all to repay creditors.
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“1.1m ETH related to partial reward withdrawals could face the market, while Celsius is likely to sell its 158k staked balance as part of its bankruptcy process. These two numbers represent nearly 1.3m ETH or approximately $2.4bn worth of potential sell-side pressure to face the market,” the K33 researchers noted.
The researchers went ahead to point out the Kraken staking-as-a-Service saga, whereby the exchange was forced to cease operations by the United States SEC. Notably, Kraken is expected to unstake its Ether and repay investors as the program is no longer available in the United States.
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Kraken will unstake all ETH staked by U.S. investors as a result of its Wells Notice, this could entice some of Kraken’s ETH stakers to sell,” the analysts noted.
