Ethereum Surges 19.91% After Pectra Upgrade, OBOL Token Launches

Ethereum's latest price was $2181.55, up 19.91% in the last 24 hours. The Pectra upgrade, the largest upgrade to Ethereum in terms of offerings, was activated on the main network at epoch 364,032. This upgrade includes a series of enhancements aimed at making Ethereum more user-friendly and efficient. The massive upgrade contains 11 key EIPs, with one major update being the addition of smart contract functionality to wallets, making them easier to use and recover. The implementation of the hardfork in the Sepolia and Holesky testnets led to failures. In the former case, intrusion by an attacker caused additional difficulties. In Holesky, even after restoring the network's operability, it turned out to be impossible to test the functionality of the upgrade in terms of validator output. The developers decided to create a new long-term testnet to complete the validation of the hardfork. The testnet, called Hoodi, launched on March 17, with the upgrade deployed in the same month. According to a statement from the Ethereum team, the main features introduced in the upgrade are active on the mainnet, including wallets in the form of smart contracts, doubling the amount of data storage for scaling L2 networks, and improving the user interface for validators. Developers will continue to monitor possible issues due to the hardfork activation over the next 24 hours.

The Obol Collective has officially launched the OBOL Token, marking a significant moment for Ethereum and other decentralized infrastructure networks. The token serves as the governance and coordination engine for over 800 active node operators securing more than $1 billion in ETH across leading protocols and institutions including Lido, EtherFi, StakeWise, Swell, Bitcoin Suisse and many more. The token unlock follows a strategic airdrop to thousands of Ethereum solo stakers, Rocketpool node operators, and contributors to the Ethereum ecosystem, ensuring broad distribution among those already actively participating in network security. In collaboration with Tally, Obol is introducing an innovative staking mechanism that allows OBOL holders to stake their tokens and receive a liquid staked governance token in return. This approach provides stakers with both staking rewards and full participation rights across the ecosystem, creating a powerful alignment between governance participation and protocol rewards. Stakers will retain all core benefits of the OBOL token, including governance over the Obol Collective, voting power in Retroactive Funding Rounds, restaking capabilities with partner protocols, and use as premier collateral within eligible DeFi protocols. Obol Distributed Validators have become foundational to Ethereum's decentralization roadmap, enabling fault-tolerant validator clusters operated across multiple geographies that outperform traditional validators. This technology has already transformed the staking landscape, enabling Lido to expand from 36 to over 200+ operators, helping EtherFi create Operation Solo Staker, onboarding home stakers to the protocol, allowing solo stakers to outperform professional operators in validator performance, and enabling institutional-grade staking entities to lower their operating costs while improving performance. As a founding member of both the Proof of Stake Alliance and the Node Operator Risk Standard, Obol is shaping both the technology and policy frameworks that will define institutional staking for years to come. Distributed Validators represent the gold standard for secure, scalable, and decentralized Ethereum staking. With the OBOL Token, Obol is ensuring that the future development of this critical infrastructure stays in the hands of the community it serves.

Ethereum’s supply has hit a new high, increasing selling pressure and hindering price growth. The Dencun upgrade reduced fees, weakening Ethereum’s deflationary mechanism. Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade brings key improvements, offering hope for future scalability. Ethereum may be poised for a comeback as the latest on-chain data from CryptoQuant signals a rare undervaluation relative to Bitcoin, hinting at a possible accumulation phase. The analytical platform’s data indicated that ETH/BTC MVRV is low, signaling a possible entry point for buying. Historically, ETH outperformance has been preceded by such low levels. However, existing fundamentals indicate several impediments that may cap a vigorous comeback in the price of Ethereum. ETH is now extremely undervalued compared to BTC, the first time since 2019. Historically, this led to Ethereum outperforming. However, supply pressure, weak demand, and flat activity could stall a rebound. ETH’s supply now exceeds 120.7 million ETH, an all-time high. This shows a change from the post-merger deflationary perspective. The rise in supply puts pressure on selling, which could negatively impact the price of ETH. Without the powerful demand drivers, this increasing supply may worsen price woes. The Dencun upgrade has effectively reduced transaction fees, but it has already contributed to the supply problem. Due to the reduced fees, the ETH burn rate has been very close to zero. Given that the EIP-1559 deflationary mechanism is gas fees-based, reduced prices have undermined Ethereum’s deflationary characteristics. Such structural changes suggest a low probability of the deflationary effects returning soon. The on-chain activity on the Ethereum network has been flat since 2021. The transaction count and active addresses have experienced minimal increases. As Layer 2 networks have grown, much of this development has come at the cost of main net activity, reducing demand for Ethereum block space, shrinking fee production, and devaluing the value proposition. Meanwhile, the investor interest in ETH also declined. According to data, there has been a reduction in the staked ETH and a decrease in institutional investors’ holdings. The value staked has decreased from the peak, however, fund holdings remain downward. Such indicators showcase a lack of confidence in crypto-natives and conventional investors. Despite these concerns, Ethereum’s recently implemented Pectra upgrade creates a glimmer of hope. The upgrade ensures 11 key improvements to the network, such as support for smart contract wallets and smarter validator operations. Pectra also raises the staking cap and allows withdrawals through smart contracts. These upgrades seek to make Ethereum more scalable and accessible, strengthening its long-term fundamentals. Although Ethereum is facing serious headwinds, the Pectra upgrade can create a foundation for the future. Such advancements may technically bolster network fundamentals and potentially boost interest in ETH.