With the launch of Phase Zero of Ethereum 2.0, some predictions suggest that the price of ETH could continue to rise.
It has almost doubled since the beginning of September, but still has potential for growth. According to Simon Peters, an eToro analyst, the long-term value of ETH could continue to grow sustainably with the transition to version 2.0 of the protocol.
At the beginning of September, after the decline following the DeFi boom, the price of ETH had fallen to $310, whereas now it has risen above $600.
At the beginning of November, it was actually still under $400, with the largest increases in the last few weeks.
Going back in time, it was since May 2018 that it hadn’t gone back above $600, and this recent rise is most likely due to news of the imminent launch of Phase Zero of Ethereum 2.0.
Staking strengthens the optimistic price prediction for Ethereum
Peters emphasizes that Ethereum has achieved an important milestone in migrating to a more powerful platform based on Proof-of-Stake, which will make the network more scalable, secure, decentralized and sustainable.
In order to start the upgrade, the network needs at least 16,000 validators who have decided to stake at least 32 ETH each, and thanks to an exceptional effort, particularly in the last 24 hours, this goal has been achieved.
As a result, phase zero can be launched on December 1st, as planned, and although the minimum collection target was around 524,000 ETH, more than 688,000 ETH have been collected, i.e. 131% of the expected number.
When the staking rewards start to be distributed, it is possible that more people will try to participate in the staking, acquiring ETH on the exchanges. Moreover, despite the strong price increase in recent weeks, the ETH price currently remains well below its historical high of $1,430.
Peters says:
“From a supply and demand perspective, the community should also note that there is a lot of ether locked in to DeFi protocols, although it has taken a dip in recent weeks. Combine these locked away tokens with the newly staked ETH and there is a possibility of a supply side shock. Nevertheless, if people see the long term value that this migration could have on the network, we could see the value of ether continue to sustainably rise”.
