Bitcoin (BTC) and other leading cryptocurrencies surged to new multi-year highs due to the launch of the first spot bitcoin ETF. This has pushed the price of bitcoin to a level of more than US$ 60,000 or around Rp. 961.41 million for the first time since 2021.
According to Forbes Advisor, investors anticipate that bitcoin ETF momentum coupled with the highly anticipated bitcoin halving event could push the crypto to test its all-time intraday high of US$68,990.90 or around IDR 1.08 billion in the coming weeks.
Ethereum (ETH) prices also saw gains in February, partly due to bitcoin momentum and partly due to anticipation of the Dencun network technology upgrade, scheduled for March 13. In addition, Ethereum investors hope that the US Securities and Exchange Commission will soon approve this. first place Ethereum ETF.
As March approaches, the crypto market's attention may shift from bitcoin to Ethereum as the world's second most valuable crypto network implements the Dencun upgrade, also known as Duncan or EIP-4844.
However Ethereum faces stiff competition from Solana (SOL), Avalanche (AVAX) and others. Critics of the ethereum blockchain network point to Ethereum's relatively slow transaction speeds, low throughput, and high fees for users. For example, Grayscale reported recent average Ethereum transaction fees of $2.30 were “much more expensive” than Solana.
Ethereum has completed its first major step in its long-term plan to reduce fees and increase scalability when it transitions from an energy-intensive proof-of-work model to a proof-of-stake model in 2023. The Dencun upgrade, scheduled for 2023. March 13 will further improve scalability by creating storage network data more efficiently.
Jesper Mathias Nielsen, chief operating officer at Northstake, said Dencun's upgrade could reduce Ethereum settlement costs by an order of magnitude or more.
"Previous Ethereum upgrades tended to solve narrow problems—things like reducing gas price volatility. But EIP-4844 could take Ethereum to the next level by fundamentally improving its scaling and efficiency through much lower settlement fees," Nielsen said.
Is an Ethereum Spot ETF Coming?
Ethereum investors could get more good news in the coming months if the SEC approves a first-class spot Ethereum ETF. At least 10 companies have applied to launch spot Ethereum ETFs, including Fidelity Investments and BlackRock (BLK). The SEC faces a May deadline to decide on the first wave of spot Ethereum ETF applications.
Ethereum is the only cryptocurrency besides bitcoin whose futures contracts are traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), which is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Rikke Staer, CEO of Coinify, said predictions surrounding the bitcoin halving event will likely dominate crypto market headlines in March.
"Previous halvings in 2012 and 2016 were followed by significant increases in bitcoin prices, creating a bullish narrative around the halving in 2024," Staer said.
However, he said this halving was not necessarily good news for everyone.
"While this is positive for the industry, miners may face profitability challenges, potentially leading to consolidation in the bitcoin mining industry," Staer said.
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