Ahead of the Shapella hard fork on April 12, ETH traders are showing caution, with many closely watching staking unlock requests for signs of potential selling pressure. The hard fork is expected to allow stakers to unlock their Ether rewards or stop staking entirely, with over 170,000 ETH withdrawals requested by April 11. However, with over 18.1 million ETH staked on the Beacon Chain, traders remain cautious about the potential selling pressure following the hard fork.
Analysts also point to other factors that could impact ETH’s performance, including high transaction fees and declining activity on Ethereum-based decentralized exchanges (DEX). Additionally, the battle to keep Ethereum sufficiently and properly decentralized has been cited as another factor in ETH’s underperformance relative to Bitcoin.
While some have called the Shapella hard fork a “buy the news” event, there are no clear indications for a rally, with Ether futures premiums currently at 2%, down from 4% the previous week. According to professional traders, there is no indication of any panic selling, and it is expected that Ethereum will maintain its value around $1,900 in the near future.
