Ethereum Price Hits $3,400, Rises 5% as Smart Contracts Grow

Crypto Market Buzz! Ethereum soars to $3,400, up 5% on smart contract surge

 The cryptocurrency market witnessed a strong rally on Feb 29, with both Bitcoin and Ethereum surging to new highs. Bitcoin reached $64,000, while Ethereum almost breached the $3,500 resistance level, coming within $12. However, signals from the Ethereum derivative markets suggest a potential pullback for the smart contract platform.

As of now, the Ethereum price stands at $3,462.96, reflecting a 5.01% increase over the past 24 hours. Ethereum's market capitalization sits at $416.91B, with a year-to-date change of 52.38%. Despite the recent surge, caution is advised as market indicators hint at a possible correction in Ethereum's price.

Ethereum price analysis:

Ethereum's price analysis for February 29th, 2023, reveals a bullish trend, with ETH/USD trading above $3,400 following a recent surge. Bulls are striving to retest the $3,485 resistance level, maintaining strong pressure. As of the current writing, ETH is priced at $3,471, marking a 6.51% increase over the past 24 hours. Today's trading session demonstrates robust bullish momentum, with most cryptocurrencies showing gains. The overall market's bullish trend is propelling ETH's price upward, potentially aiming for the $3,485 resistance level.

Ethereum depicts a strong bullish momentum, suggesting further price increases as bulls dominate the market. Buying pressure has intensified as more investors enter the market. Although bears briefly pushed the price below $3,200 yesterday, bulls swiftly regained control, propelling ETH above the $3,400 level again.

Analyzing the technical indicators, the relative strength index (RSI) on the 24-hour chart indicates a bullish trend, trading in the upper half of the neutral zone at an index of 86.24, suggesting further bullish potential. Additionally, the Bollinger Bands on the hourly chart are expanding, indicating high market volatility. The upper Bollinger Band is at $3,442, while the lower band is at $2,417. These indicators collectively suggest a strong bullish sentiment in the Ethereum market, with the potential for further price increases in the near term.

Ethereum's Dencun Upgrade Goes Live Across All Testnets

The Ethereum Foundation has announced that the Dencun network upgrade is scheduled to be activated on the Ethereum mainnet on March 13, 2024. This upgrade, following the Shapella upgrade, introduces significant changes to the consensus and execution layers of the Ethereum Network, as outlined in Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 7569.

Key changes to the protocol include the implementation of EIP-1153 for transient storage opcodes, EIP-4788 for beacon block root in the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), EIP-4844 for shard blob transactions, and EIP-5656 for memory copying instructions. Additionally, EIP-6780 allows for SELFDESTRUCT only in the same transaction, EIP-7044 introduces perpetually valid signed voluntary exits, EIP-7045 increases the maximum attestation inclusion slot, EIP-7514 adds a maximum epoch churn limit, and EIP-7516 introduces the BLOBBASEFEE code.

The foundation has cautioned validators about the risks associated with running a majority client. They have also provided tools for client distribution and switching instructions, along with a list of client releases that support the Dencun upgrade on the Ethereum mainnet.

It is important to note that Ethereum users are not mandated to upgrade their wallets unless advised by their exchange or wallet provider. However, node operators must update their clients to the specified versions to ensure compatibility with the Dencun upgrade.

Failure to engage in the upgrade will result in synchronizing to the pre-fork blockchain, which is incompatible with the post-Dencun Ethereum network.