Ethereum price has been stalling for the past few days after slipping below the $1,900 zone on Friday, ahead of its Shapella upgrade later this week. Ethereum’s total market cap has increased by 1.38% in the past 24 hours, while the total volume of the coin traded rose by 9.75%. At press time, the altcoin was trading at $1,859.90.
Shanghai Upgrade
Ethereum price has been slipping for the past few days, ahead of the fast-approaching Shapella upgrade. Even so, Ethereum has still managed to secure a place among the best-performing cryptocurrencies this year, jumping 55.53% in the year to date.
Focus has shifted to the Ethereum blockchain’s Shanghai upgrade scheduled to occur on April 12. The upgrade will mark Ethereum’s second-most significant milestone in its developmental journey post the Merge.
According to developers, the Shanghai upgrade will improve liquidity for stakers and validators who wish to withdraw their funds. Additionally, the upgrade reduces gas fees for Ethereum network developers. The lowering of gas fees for developers and an increase in the popularity of liquid staking are expected to pump ETH adoption higher.
More than 85% of Ethereum holders expect the number of ETH coins staked in the next three months to increase, driving away fears of massive selling pressure on the digital asset. According to analysts, the upgrade might lead to selling pressure on Ethereum’s price in the short term. However, analysts believe that the Shapella upgrade will be highly bullish for Ethereum in both the medium term and the long term.
The Ethereum price is also likely to react to the US key inflation data slated for April 12. Analysts expect a 0.1% decline in the core Consumer Price Index (CPI) for March and a 0.8% decline in the YoY CPI. An increase in inflation might prompt the Federal Reserve to increase interest rates which would negatively impact risk assets such as cryptocurrencies.
Ethereum Price Outlook
The daily chart shows that the Ethereum price has been trading sideways for the past few days ahead of its major upgrade. However, the altcoin remains above the 25-day and 50-day moving averages, as well as the 50-day and 200-day exponential moving averages. Its Relative Strength Index (RSI) has remained neutral, while the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator moves to the bearish zone.
Therefore, the ETH price is likely to inch lower in the short term before initiating a bullish breakout. The next support levels to watch will be $1,805.40 and $1,769.05. On the other hand, a move past the important resistance level at $1,900 will invalidate the cautiously bearish thesis.
