Ether price cracks $2K amid staking withdrawals enabled post-Shapella upgrade

Despite some fears of a new supply of Ether (ETH) hitting the markets after the much anticipated Shapella update, ETH surpassed the $2,000 price point almost a day after the upgrade. 

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro shows that the token entered the $2,000 level on April 13, the highest level reached since August. The surge comes after the successful Shapella upgrade implemented at 10:27 pm UTC on April 12.

The upgrade allows staked ETH withdrawals for users who previously had no way to take back their funds after staking. Even though a new supply of ETH hit the markets, suggesting a potential dump, the price of ETH still managed to hit $2,000 and currently maintains the level at the time of writing.

On April 12, crypto analytics firm Glassnode predicted that only around 1% of staked ETH may hit the market after Shapella goes live. According to the firm, only 253 depositors have signed up to withdraw their staked ETH positions. The firm expressed confidence that the newest update on the network will not have a “dramatic” effect on the price of Ether. 

After the hard fork was seamlessly executed on the Ethereum mainnet, a total of 12,859 ETH, worth almost $26 million at the time of writing, was unlocked in 4,333 withdrawals just within the first hour after withdrawals were enabled.

Related: Ethereum price turns bullish ahead of next week’s Shanghai and Capella upgrades

Right after the upgrade, the community celebrated the new milestone with various sentiments. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said in a livestream that Ethereum is currently in a “really good place.” Buterin highlighted that there is a lot more to be done, but it can be done at a slower pace.

Crypto exchanges have also expressed their support for ETH unstaking. Coinbase and BitGo have already enabled withdrawals on their exchanges. Binance said that it will support withdrawals on April 19. Meanwhile, Kraken started withdrawing validators for United States users on April 11 and started processing as soon as the Shapella upgrade was implemented.

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