According According to a recent survey conducted by OKX, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, a large majority of the Ethereum (ETH) community expects an increase in ETH stakes at the time of the Shapella update. More importantly, most are predicting that the ETH price will reach a new all-time high.
The Ethereum community is optimistic for the coming months
The survey conducted by OKX offers insight into the expectations of the Ethereum community for the future of the network. According to the survey, most respondents anticipate an increase in ETH staking in the next three months, driven in part by the upcoming Shapella update; more precisely, 83% of those surveyed believe in this theory.
Regarding price predictions, 63% of respondents believe that ETH will reach a new high of over $5,000 by the end of 2023. However, there is some disagreement among respondents on how ETH price will react to the price update. Shapella. 59% expect the price to continue increasing before and after the update, and 20% anticipate a period of sideways movement.
When specifically asked about the ETH price in June 2023, 33% of respondents expect it to be above its current six-month high of $2,000 but below its 12-month high of $3,000. Meanwhile, 34% predict ETH will be below $2,000, while 33% believe it will be at least $3,100.
ETH staking grows in popularity
According to the survey, as of April 5, 2023, 17.9 million ETH had been staked on the Ethereum network. This represents a significant amount of value, equal to over $34 billion, highlighting the growing popularity of ETH staking for generating passive income in the industry.
Additionally, investors who stake their ETH can earn a 4.64% Annual Percentage Rate (APR) on their holdings. However, as the pool of ETH staked increases, the APR decreases, reflecting the increasing competition among stakers for rewards.
According to OKX, it plans to start processing staked ETH withdrawal requests within a week of the Shapella update to meet the growing demand for ETH staking.
The survey was conducted by OKX at the ETH Denver conference between March 1-5, 2023, and included 700 participants, including ETH traders, investors, and network developers, according to OKX.
Overall, the growing popularity of ETH staking and the increasing amount of value staked on the Ethereum network reflect the growing maturity and adoption of the nascent industry in recent months, along with the confidence investors have regained with the touch of crypto winter.
ETH is trading sideways at $1,850, which is a 0.6% decline over the past 24 hours. However, the cryptocurrency still holds the gains made in the last 7 days, with a gain of 3.5% in the seven-day period.
Featured Image from Unsplash, Chart from TradingView.com
