This week, investors will finally get access to more than $33 billion in ether thanks to a planned blockchain redesign.
Market participants will be able to redeem their “staked ether,” or currency they have placed and locked up on the network during the past three years in exchange for interest, thanks to a new software upgrade to the Ethereum blockchain called Shapella.
Approximately 15% of all ether is staked, with a market value of $33.73 billion, according to statistics from Dune Analytics.
According to Sreejith Das, CEO of Attestant, a business that allows the staking of ether, up to 1.1 million ether will be available for withdrawals in the week following the redesign of the blockchain. On the basis of the most recent ether pricing, that would be worth close to $2 billion.
Traders looking for a competitive edge are currently attempting to predict how the sudden ether windfall would affect prices. However, as Robert Quartly-Janeiro, chief strategy officer at cryptocurrency exchange Bitrue, noted, it’s challenging to determine.
The Shanghai hard fork will result in some short-term volatility, he continued, and that is the only thing that is definite.
Unlocking staked coins has some market participants concerned that it could trigger large withdrawals and a wave of selling, which could cause values to fall quickly.
Bundeep Rangar, CEO of blockchain investment company Fineqia International, claims that just roughly 29% of all ether staked by volume is currently profitable in dollar terms, indicating that the majority would be sold at a loss.
“It seems unlikely, therefore, that much of the staked ether will be sold,” Rangar added.
