Current Ethereum Price: $2,000
- The Pectra upgrade for Ethereum has been successfully implemented on the Hoodi testnet after initial challenges with Holesky and Sepolia.
- Developers may set a launch date for the Pectra mainnet during the ACDC call scheduled for Thursday.
- ETH is at risk of a significant drop if it confirms a developing bearish flag pattern.
Despite the positive news about the Pectra upgrade going live on the Hoodi testnet, Ethereum (ETH) has seen a 3% decline on Wednesday. A further decrease could occur if a bearish flag pattern is confirmed with a drop below $1,818.
Pectra Upgrade Successfully Launched on Hoodi Testnet
On Wednesday, Ethereum developers successfully implemented the Pectra upgrade on the Hoodi testnet, experiencing no issues up to this point.
If everything continues to operate smoothly on Hoodi, Pectra could be deployed on the Ethereum mainnet by April 25. Developers have indicated that the mainnet launch will occur at least 30 days after the Hoodi rollout.
However, the timing will largely rely on the outcomes of discussions among core developers during the upcoming Ethereum All Core Developers Consensus (ACDC) call on Thursday.
Testnets are specialized environments designed for testing new blockchain features before they are launched on the mainnet.
The Hoodi testnet was initiated last Friday to facilitate thorough testing of validator exits—allowing validators to opt out of their consensus roles—following issues that impacted adequate Pectra testing on Holesky and Sepolia testnets.
“Upgrades can face complications. If postponing the mainnet launch ensures Pectra’s success, it’s a reasonable compromise,” said Nick Johnson, founder of Ethereum Name Service. “While some community members may feel frustrated by Ethereum’s cautious approach, it reflects the core developers’ dedication to quality over haste,” he added.
Pectra is set to implement multiple features aimed at enhancing Ethereum’s scalability, user experience, and validator consolidation. Key features include sponsored transactions, allowing gas fees to be paid with other ERC-20 tokens, transaction batching, wallet recovery options, an increase in blobs per block, and raising the staking limit from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH.
ETH Price Outlook: Risk of Validating a Bearish Flag
According to data from Coinglass, Ethereum has experienced $50.97 million in futures liquidations over the past 24 hours, with liquidated long positions totaling $41.83 million and short positions accounting for $9.14 million.
ETH faced resistance at the $2,069 level and is now testing the lower boundary of an ascending trendline. A drop below this trendline could lead ETH to test the support level at $1,818.
ETH/USDT daily chart
If ETH falls below $1,818, this would confirm a bearish flag pattern, possibly guiding its price down through the critical $1,522 level. A bearish flag typically signals a continuation of a downward trend.
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is trending downward beneath its neutral point, while the %K line of the Stochastic Oscillator has crossed below its moving average. This suggests increasing bearish momentum.
A solid daily close above the upper ascending trendline would invalidate this bearish scenario and could potentially trigger an uptrend for ETH.
Ethereum FAQs
Ethereum is a decentralized, open-source blockchain that supports smart contracts. Its native token, Ether (ETH), is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, making it the leading altcoin. The Ethereum network is designed to facilitate the creation of crypto solutions including decentralized finance (DeFi), GameFi, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).
Ethereum serves as a public decentralized blockchain platform, allowing developers to build and launch applications that operate without a central authority. The network utilizes the Solidity programming language and the Ethereum Virtual Machine to enable the development and deployment of applications with smart contract capabilities.
Smart contracts are publicly verifiable code segments that automate agreements between two or more parties. Essentially, these codes execute actions automatically once certain predetermined conditions are met.
Staking refers to the process of earning yield on idle cryptocurrency assets by locking them within a crypto protocol for a specific duration, contributing to the security of the network. On September 15, 2022, Ethereum transitioned from a Proof-of-Work (PoW) to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism in an event called “The Merge.” This transition was a crucial milestone in Ethereum’s roadmap to achieve enhanced scalability, decentralization, and security sustainably. Unlike PoW, which requires expensive hardware, PoS lowers the entry barriers for validators by using cryptocurrency tokens as the foundation of its consensus process.
Gas represents the unit for measuring transaction fees that users incur when conducting transactions on Ethereum. During times of network congestion, gas fees can soar, leading validators to prioritize transactions based on the fees paid.