Share this article
Bernstein: Ethereum Activity Has Picked Up, With Shanghai Upgrade the Next Big Catalyst
Daily fees on the blockchain have more than doubled in the past month, the report said.
By Will Canny
Updated Feb 6, 2023, 3:33 p.m. Published Feb 6, 2023, 8:47 a.m.
Ethereum has witnessed much healthier on-chain activity recently, with improved interest in non-fungible-tokens (NFT) led by the launch of a mini-game by Yuga Labs, Bernstein said in a research report Monday.
Daily fees on the blockchain have more than doubled since the start of the year from around $2 million to $4 million-$6 million, the report said. Ether has gained around 35% in value.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
Bernstein notes that ether inflation has remained negative for over two weeks, with the expectation of further deflation with more on-chain activity and demand.
“We do believe BTC [bitcoin] and ETH remain relatively clean here and will see gradual conviction-based spot positioning,” analysts Gautam Chhugani and Manas Agrawal wrote.
The next big catalyst for Ethereum remains the Shanghai upgrade due in mid-March, when withdrawals of staked ether will be enabled, the note said.
There may be some caution heading into this event because of concerns around supply from the unstaked ether as 70% of the ETH staked has been through liquid staking pools such as LIDO or led by exchanges, the report said.
The remaining ether has been directly staked into the Beacon Chain and is unlikely to be short-term holders. Therefore, there may be caution approaching the event, “but improved conviction in holding in spot markets, as the fears recede,” the report added.
Read more: Deflationary Ether Is Underperforming Bitcoin, Here Are 3 Reasons Why
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
ETH, ADA, XRP Lead Gains as Bitcoin Edges Higher on Fed Rate Cut Expectations
Asian equities opened the week slightly higher ahead of a heavy run of central bank decisions, including a Federal Reserve meeting where markets have largely priced in a 25-basis-point rate cut.
What to know:
- Bitcoin traded above $91,300 as Asian equities opened higher, with markets anticipating a Federal Reserve rate cut.
- Bitcoin rose 2% in 24 hours, facing resistance near $94,000, while Ether gained 3% to $3,135.
- Despite crypto market gains, sentiment remains cautious, with potential for a deeper slowdown without new liquidity.
Top Stories
