ETH Bulls Continue to Run: 63% Predict Price Above $5K by 2023

• Ethereum developers held their weekly call to discuss areas in development for the ETH network.
• Progress on the Deneb upgrade and MEV-Boost software releases were discussed, as well as developments with the Shanghai/Capella upgrades.
• Crypto exchange firm OKX conducted a survey predicting ETH will hit USD 5,000 by 2023, showing positive sentiment around ETH.

Ethereum’s Development Call

Ethereum’s consensus developers held their weekly call to discuss several pressing issues related to Ethereum’s functionality and performance. The topics discussed included progress on the Deneb upgrade and MEV-Boost software releases, as well as developments with the Shanghai/Capella upgrades.

Deneb Upgrade & MEV-Boost Software Releases

The Deneb upgrade is the next upgrade after Capella. Meanwhile, the Capella upgrade is set for 12 April which will enable staked ETH withdrawals. The developers also launched their third mainnet shadow fork which was used to test the final client software versions for both upgrades. Chris Hager from Flashbots team gave an update on the MEV-Boost releases which were created in response to a rogue validator stealing MEV from searchers. Two significant changes were pushed to the MEV relay software causing an increase in orphaned blocks, prompting more monitoring and collaboration with relay operators for data analysis. Further security research on the codebase was suggested along with a coordinated bug bounty program.

Sentiment Around ETH

Amidst all of this uncertainty before Shanghai/Shapella upgrade, sentiment towards Ethereum remained positive at press time. On 7 April, Crypto exchange firm OKX conducted a survey amongst crypto users where 63% of respondents predicted that ETH would hit over USD 5,000 by 2023 end – signifying a positive sentiment towards Ethereum going forward.

Stakers Impacting Ethereum

As Shanghai Upgrade gets closer, behavior of users who have staked their Ether on beacon chain will impact Ethereum’s future significantly; 19 million Ether tokens are currently locked in beacon chain out of which majority of holders hold between 0-2 Ether tokens each validator earning 3.7% APY in last 24 hours alone can significantly impact market if these stakers decide to withdraw or sell off their holdings suddenly when prices rise or fall respectively; hence it is important to monitor them closely too!

Conclusion
Overall sentiment around ETH remains positive despite all of its upcoming upgrades at press time according to surveys done by crypto exchanges; however it is important that stakers be monitored closely considering they hold 19 million ether tokens locked up in beacon chain and can easily move markets depending upon how they decide when prices rise or fall!