Two days after the Ethereum Altair upgrade was activated and all necessary enhancements integrated to the Beacon Chain, ETH prices soared above $4.4k to register another feat—all-time highs.
This is a record-breaker for Ethereum and another highlight of how valuable and activity dense the ledger is. From NFTs to DeFi and even Layer-2, so much fun is going on for token holders and investors.
The Ethereum 2.0 Evolvolution
Gradually, Ethereum is evolving from a mining, energy-inefficient network to a staking protocol where validators are king. While EIP-1559 is already live, helping burn billions of ETH, its objective is yet to be realized. Ethereum gas fees are still exorbitantly high, even prohibitive for users who might want to participate in the fun of NFT flipping. Layer-2 might be an option, but the confidence of transacting on-chain offers greater reassurance, especially if there is top dollar involved.
Why an Ethereum Altair Upgrade?
Altair assures the broader community that Ethereum developers are hunched at work, building as per the roadmap. It is expected that the merger, which combines the two parallel chains, will happen in 2022—if not 2023.
What Will Happen When Ethereum Switches to POS?
In a Proof-of-Stake system, mining will become obsolete, and the power of miners will devolve to validators active in an energy-efficient network. Instead of expensive rare hardware, validators need to stake ETH, taking them out of circulation.
There are over $34 billion ETH locked in the official Eth2 staking contract, according to Etherscan. By securing the network, stakers receive near-risk-free high yields of around six percent. Ahead of the merger, more stakers will likely deploy, locking a minimum of 32 ETH, drawing more supply from circulation.
Subsequently, and with EIP-1559 operational, the resulting demand of ETH in circulation would only aid to thrust prices higher as users compete to scoop scarce coins.
Therefore, with all these factors in mind, the ETH leg up is getting started. As per coin trackers, ETH is currently trading at $4.3k.
