The world’s second-largest cryptocurrency Ethereum (ETH) has shown a strong move to the north extending its weekly gains by 15% and approaching $3,000. As of press time, ETH is trading 6% up at a price of $2,945 with a market cap of $353 billion.
Whales have turned active once again for the first time in the last three weeks. On-chain data provider Santiment reports:
Ethereum has surged back above $2,900 for the first time since March 2nd, and whale transactions are on the rise big time. Yesterday was the first day with over 7,000 $100k+ transactions on the $ETH network since the #war news broke.
With the recent price surge, Ethereum (ETH) has managed to break above the resistance trendline for the first time this year. Thus, any push above $3,000 with strong volumes will help to break the psychological barrier and we might expect to resume the uptrend once again.
$ETH breaking above this resistance trend line for the first time in 2022 pic.twitter.com/vkZRx4eGvS
— Luke Martin (@VentureCoinist) March 18, 2022
Additionally, data from IntoTheBlock shows that there have been massive ETH outflows from the exchanges this week in anticipation of strong bullish price action.
On Friday, March 18, exchanges recorded the largest single-day outflow for 2022 at a staggering 180K. The last time such outflows were recorded, ETH registered a 15% jump in the next ten days.
Ethereum 2.0 Developments
Ethereum developers have been pushing enough for The Merge and a smooth transition to Ethereum 2.0. Recently, the developers successfully implemented the merge of Ethereum “execution” layer and the “consensus” layer on the Kiln testnet.
Ethereum co-founder and ConsenSys CEO Joseph Lubin said he expects Ethereum 2.0 to come by Q2 2022. While speaking at the Camp Ethereal crypto event in Wyoming, Lubin said:
“The merge is happening, surprisingly, on that same timeframe. So my estimate stays the same. We have a team working strongly, heavily on it”.
Ethereum enthusiasts have been eagerly waiting for Ethereum 2.0 as it will further boost scalability while reducing transaction costs. Surprisingly, the Ethereum 1.0 platform is witnessing a strong drop in gas fees even today.