The fall of FTX seems to be the only thing highlighted in the media these past few weeks, and for good reason too. However, so many other stories and trends are going under the radar that would have otherwise made much bigger ripples in the cryptoverse. This article covers a few such trends surrounding Ethereum and what it could mean for the network in the future. Let's get started!
Ethereum whales and sharks
The price of Ethereum (and all cryptos in general) has taken a hit in the last few weeks. This wasn't due to any inherent faults of the network or its decreased utility. It was because a large pillar of trust (FTX), supported by a ton of retailer money, just came crashing down.
Conversations about cryptos being a scam and overly risky are catching the wind. As such, people don't want to buy into cryptos right now because of the volatility, not to mention the fear of an incoming recession. Cash certainly seems king now.
However, Ethereum whales and sharks are taking this as an opportunity to gather more Ethereum at its currently discounted price. According to Santiment, a major analytics firm, accounts holding 100 to 100,000 ETH are accumulating more and more of it.
"Ethereum's active shark and whale addresses continue accumulating with prices less than a quarter of their All-Time High levels a year ago. In October/November 2020, these 100 to 100,000 ETH addresses assisted in pushing ETH to a +50 percent price rise over five weeks," Santiment tweeted.
On November 24, whale accounts accumulated $1 billion worth of ETH, the fifth-largest single-day accumulation in the history of Ethereum. Therefore, the volumes being bought seem to have the second-largest cryptocurrency poised for a comeback. However, the retailers aren't in on the action yet (more on this a bit later), and when they do get in on the action, it could trigger a rise for ETH.
Ethereum nodes
In the last 30 days alone, the number of validating nodes on the Ethereum network has increased by over five percent. This is despite the overall revenue projections of staking seeing a decrease due to ETH's recent price reduction.
Now, the only reason someone would invest their time and money into something that isn't making immediate returns is if they are optimistic about future performance. We're not entirely sure if this pattern will continue, but the validators are going strong on the Ethereum network for now.
The active Ethereum addresses
If you thought it was all good news with the number of validators rising and whales gobbling up more Ethereum, this next trend might seem a little concerning. The number of active accounts on the Ethereum network has gone down in the past couple of months to hit the lowest it has been in the last two years. Further, most of the active accounts also remain in losses, which could keep them from selling their ETH holdings.
One reason for the lowered active accounts could be the absence of retail investors, who have taken a backseat in recent times. The world's second-largest crypto exchange going down means it will take a while for retail buyers to get back into the market.
The future of the Ethereum Network
The future of the Ethereum network doesn't look like it has diminished in any way. Yes, the short-term setback is because of the surrounding circumstances affecting its prices, but everything else seems to be going Ethereum's way.
With its recent upgrade, it has brought down network congestion and energy consumption, increasing transactions per second. Further, it remains the number one go-to for smart contracts. The utility has only increased with more and more web3 projects being built on the Ethereum blockchain. In a few years, we might look back to this period as the short slump that seemed unending while we were in it.
