U.Today - The Ethereum (ETH) protocol's Shapella upgrade is notably paying off in more ways than imagined. At the moment, the digital currency is trading at a price of $2,111.64, to data from CoinMarketCap. At this point, the digital currency has formed a strong support around the $2,000 price range in what appears to be a crucial point to chart a sustained upward rally.
While Ethereum is still in the process of transforming into a fully functional proof-of-stake (PoS) protocol, the recent Shapella upgrade might lend some additional momentum to the growth of the protocol than earlier projected.
According to Messari Researcher Tom Dunleavy, there are about 6,000 validators on the Ethereum network that are patiently waiting to stake Ether on the protocol.
Notably, the Shapella upgrade has ushered in the freedom to stake and unstake at will, and we are bound to see more validators into the ecosystem.
While there are rewards to be reaped from staking, the sheer scarcity it will drive in the supply of Ethereum is considered a crucial selling point that can help drive the price of the token to new heights.
Ethereum and Bitcoin dominance
Despite its latest upgrades and higher protocol utility, Ethereum is still somewhat subjected to the dominance of Bitcoin (BTC) in the industry. At the moment, there seems to be a break in both digital currencies' price correlation.While Ethereum is up by 1.50% over the past 24 hours, and by more than 10% in the week-to-date (WTD) period, Bitcoin has only managed a 0.74% growth WTD. This slowing correlation is good for ETH as its whales can easily aid its push-up through targeted buy-ups.
Riding on its current outlook, Ethereum will look to build on its multi-month growth earlier this week.