While many market observers may attribute Ethereum’s recent price hike to optimism over the possible approval of a spot Ether ETF, asset manager Grayscale Investments believes that Ethereum’s upcoming Dencun upgrade could lead to a rise in the cryptocurrency’s value. I suggested that I did. Some transaction costs on the network.
“We believe recent price-performance ratios reflect market expectations for this upgrade,” Grayscale Research analysts said. William Ogden Moore they wrote in a new report released Friday. “Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade, scheduled for March 13, 2024, represents a huge step forward and will help Ethereum compete in terms of faster chains and scalability in the smart contract platform cryptocurrency space such as Solana. can.”
In a new report, Grayscale analysts make a fairly bullish case for Ethereum, the second most popular cryptocurrency by market capitalization. According to The Block’s price page, the current price of Ether is up about 25% since the beginning of the year. However, the report notes that Ethereum price in 2023 has underperformed its sector, especially compared to competitors such as Solana, which grew by more than 900% last year.
Ethereum price YTD. Image: Block pricing page.
It would not be surprising to see Grayscale taking a bullish stance on Ethereum, as it is currently attempting to convert its Ethereum trust into a spot Ether ETF. Some believe the Securities and Exchange Commission is likely to approve the new financial product by May. Especially considering that it approved a spot Bitcoin ETF that began trading last month.
Ranked by assets under management, Grayscale has the largest spot Bitcoin ETF on the market.
Capture more smart contract applications
Aside from the upcoming Dencun upgrade and possible approval of a spot ether ETF, the Grayscale report points to “net deflationary supply” and “network monetization” as other reasons for optimism.
Grayscale also said that Ethereum could become more competitive, garnering more smart contract business. “If Ethereum becomes more competitive in terms of throughput and cost, it could be positioned to capture smart contract applications that require high levels of security and censorship resistance, such as stablecoins or tokenized financial assets,” Moore said. “It is,” he said.
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