Ethereum Shanghai Upgrade Triggers Ether Withdrawals, But No Mass Exodus

After the successful completion of the Shanghai upgrade, holders of Ether began withdrawing their tokens, with over 53,320 Ether (US$102 million) already taken out.

The price of Ether (ETH) shot up to around $2,000 and experts believe the withdrawals were in line with expectations. The upgrade allows validators to withdraw their staked Ether and receive a passive income, usually in the form of more tokens.

Analysts estimate that withdrawals may reach 105,680 Ether in the next 12 hours, but the daily system limits on how much staked Ether can be withdrawn may prevent a sell-off of the token. Ether was trading at US$1,983 around noon in Hong Kong on Thursday, up 6% in the past 24 hours.

The cryptocurrency has risen about 60% so far this year. Experts predict that new staking deposits can be expected to increase in the coming days and weeks, leading to more withdrawals.

However, they do not expect a massive rush to exit, and once the short-term volatility has been smoothed out, the outcome will likely be neutral.