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Bitcoin was back above $28,000 on Saturday, as markets continued to react to the latest nonfarm payrolls (NFP) report. Figures released on Friday showed that 236,000 jobs were added to the U.S. economy last month. Ethereum was also back in the green to start the weekend.

Bitcoin (BTC) surged back above the $28,000 level on Saturday, as markets continued to react to the latest NFP report.

Payrolls came in at 236,000, which was marginally lower than the 240,000 sum many were anticipating.

BTC/USD rose to an intraday high of $28,159.86 earlier in todays session, less than 24 hours after trading at a low of $27,824.15.

Looking at the chart, it appears that the increase in price comes as the relative strength index (RSI) bounced from its floor at 58.00

As of writing, the index is tracking at 59.07, which has helped delay an inevitable downwards cross with the 10-day (red) moving average and its 25-day (blue) counterpart.

BTC is trading at $28,024.28 at the time of writing.

Ethereum (ETH) started todays session in the green, as prices attempted to move back towards the $1,900 level.

Following a low of $1,845.99 on Friday, ETH/USD climbed to a peak of $1,879.11 to start the weekend.

The move saw the worlds second largest cryptocurrency snap a two-day losing streak, after staying above a floor at $1,830.

Despite the slight increase in price, ethereums price strength remains below a key support point at 61.00.

As of writing, the 14-day RSI is tracking at 60.42, and should a breakout occur, there will be a greater chance of price moving above $1,900.

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Will ethereum continue to consolidate this weekend? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Eliman was previously a director of a London-based brokerage, whilst also an online trading educator. Currently, he commentates on various asset classes, including Crypto, Stocks and FX, whilst also a startup founder.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

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Bitcoin, Ethereum Technical Analysis: BTC Back Above $28000 on Easter Weekend Market Updates Bitcoin News - Bitcoin News

Ethereum underwent a huge network upgrade called the merge which proponents say will make transactions much more energy efficient. Following the merge, ether prices have dropped following a huge run up ahead of the event.

Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Ether has spiked this week to a nine-month high, ahead of a major network upgrade that some crypto enthusiasts say will make the digital currency a more profitable long-term investment.

The world's second-biggest cryptocurrency is up about 6% over the past three days, surpassing $1,900, while bitcoin is roughly flat over that stretch.

Beginning next Wednesday, an upgrade to the blockchain, dubbed "Shapella," will allow owners of ether to withdraw their assets. Up to this point, investors would have to use centralized exchanges like Coinbase or decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols like Lido, to essentially exchange their locked-up ether for a token of equivalent value.

The recent rally has followed a similar pattern to past bouts of enthusiasm surrounding network upgrades. In September, ethereum ran up ahead of a historic transition to a more energy-efficient way of securing the network, called proof-of-stake.

Ethereum previously had a vast network of miners all over the planet running highly specialized computers that crunched math equations in order to validate transactions. After the so-called "Merge" upgrade in September, ethereum migrated to a proof-of-stake system, swapping out miners for validators. Instead of running large banks of computers, validators leverage their existing cache of ether as a means to verify transactions and mint new tokens.

"Ether itself becomes a productive asset," said Danny Ryan, a researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, regarding the September upgrade. "It's not something you might just speculate on, but it's something that can earn returns."

In the post-merge era, ether has taken on some characteristics of a traditional financial asset, paying interest to holders.

"It's probably the lowest-risk return inside of the ethereum ecosystem," said Ryan, adding that yield in other corners of DeFi involve smart contracts and other types of counter-party risk.

So far this year, ether has underperformed bitcoin, but recent gains have helped to close the gap. Ether is up nearly 59% this year, versus bitcoin's gain of 70% in 2023.

Currently, over 18 million ether tokens worth about $32.5 billion are staked, meaning that 15% of ether's total supply are considered locked assets.

While the coming upgrade will unlock much of that value, giving holders more control over their assets, there's some concern that the release of so many tokens will have a flooding effect of sorts on the market. Even with capped withdrawals, some $2.4 billion worth of ether could hit the open market, K33 Research said in a note on Tuesday.

"A plunge is likely to happen shortly after the completion of the upgrade, as a huge amount of ETH will be unlocked, and many people will also be selling their ETH," said Ilya Volkov,who runs a blockchain-based fintech platform. Volkov said he's bullish over the long term.

The ratio between the open interest ofether put and call options reached its highest level since May on Tuesday, according to data presented by crypto data analytics and news firm The Block. That could signal a buildup of bearish bets leading up to the network upgrade.

According to research from Bernstein, of the 18 million ether tokens locked on the blockchain, almost 70% are staked through protocols like Lido, creating a measure of liquidity for investors.

"Liquidity for 70% of staked ETH is not new, they could do it anyways," Bernstein wrote. The firm described the remaining 30% of holders as "original believers," who are unlikely exit their positions at this price.

Having the ability to deposit and withdraw tokens might encourage more investors to stake ether, and some analysts said they expect a significant influx of capital onto the network once it proves that money that's been staked can be taken out with relative ease.

WATCH: Bitcoin climbs as investors shrug off regulatory concerns

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Ether is rallying ahead of major upgrade that will let holders more easily access their tokens - CNBC

Lucas Outumuro, Head of Research at crypto analytics startup IntoTheBlocks (ITB), recently published a blog post titled Estimating the Impact of Ethereums Shapella Upgrade, in which he analyzes the short to medium-term effects of the upcoming $ETH unlocks. In his post, Outumuro breaks down the dynamics of the Shapella fork, the likely outcomes for different industry players, and its implications for the Ethereum network and its native asset.

Outumuro explains that the Shapella fork, set for April 12, 2023, marks the culmination of Ethereums transition to proof of stake (PoS), with validators able to begin the process of withdrawing over $34 billion in staked funds. He acknowledges the uncertainty and lack of understanding surrounding these withdrawals and aims to shed light on the process.

The Shapella fork consists of two conjoined upgrades: Shanghai, which includes Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) related to the execution layer, and Capella, a major update to Ethereums consensus layer. The most notable EIP set to be implemented in Shapella is EIP-4895, which enables validators to start withdrawing their staked ETH in two categories: partial withdrawals (staking rewards only) and full withdrawals (initial deposits and profits).

Outumuro delves into the key actors in the staking industry and how the Shapella fork affects them. Liquid Staking Derivatives (LSDs), which currently make up over 35% of all ETH staked, are expected to see net inflows after Shapella due to their liquid nature and lack of exit queues. Unidentified validators, a heterogeneous group, are likely to withdraw some ETH but not necessarily sell it, as many may be long-term ETH believers.

American centralized exchanges (CEXs) like Coinbase and Kraken, which hold nearly 20% market share of ETH staked, are likely to experience the largest withdrawals following the Shapella fork due to government intervention. Some of their users may sell their assets, while others may withdraw the ETH and hold it or move it into LSDs.

Staking services, which manage validators on behalf of clients, are expected to conduct partial withdrawals to cover their operating costs, but full withdrawals are less likely. International crypto exchanges could see net inflows and some selling.

Outumuro suggests that the dynamics of the Shapella fork could lead to a reshuffling of market share between industry players. While withdrawals might decrease the amount of ETH staked in the days after Shapella, several factors could lead to an increase in the following weeks.

Coinbases Head of Staking predicts that the amount of ETH staked will follow a J-curve, declining before climbing. This is due to the elimination of technical and economic risks associated with staking after the Shapella fork. Outumuro also notes that the percentage of ETH supply staked is significantly smaller compared to other PoS chains, which could change after the fork.

As the risks associated with staking are reduced, retail and institutional investors might be more inclined to stake their ETH. This could lead to an increase in the amount of ETH staked over time, potentially reaching 25%-30% within a year, making the Ethereum network more secure and reducing the available ETH supply to be sold.

Originally posted here:

What to Expect from Ethereum's Shapella Fork: Insights from ITB's Head of Research - CryptoGlobe

A large amount of Bitcoin and Ethereum options contracts are about to expire. Moreover, these events often cause price volatility for the underlying assets.

There has been a significant shift in derivatives trading activity, with Ethereum options trading surpassing that of Bitcoin.

37,000 Bitcoin options are about to expire with a notional value of just over $1 billion. However, this number is eclipsed by the 256,000 Ethereum options that will also expire this month. Their notional value is a whopping $4.8 billion.

Industry analyst Colin Wu commented on the massive shift in derivatives trading.

The Shanghai upgrade is coming, and the trading of Ethereum options has surpassed that of Bitcoin for the first time in more than a month.

Ethereum options are derivatives contracts that allow traders to speculate on the price of ETH. They allow traders to buy or sell Ethereum at a specific price, the strike price, at a certain date of expiry. They are also more flexible than futures which have fixed expiry dates.

According to Deribit, Ethereum Open Interest (OI) stands at almost 2.6 million open contracts that have yet to be settled.

Furthermore, there is a put/call ratio of 1.09 for Ethereum. The put/call ratio is calculated by dividing the number of traded put (short) options by the number of traded call (long) options contracts. A figure higher than 1 is bearish as more traders are buying short (sell) contracts than longs (buy).

The max pain point for Ethereum options is $1,800. This describes the strike price with the most open contracts. It is also the price at which the asset would cause financial losses for the largest number of option holders at expiration.

For Bitcoin options, things are looking a little more bullish with a put/call ratio of 0.51. This suggests there are more long contracts being bought than short contracts.

Additionally, the BTC max pain price is $28,000, pretty close to where the asset is trading at the moment.

Crypto markets have remained flat on the day, with total capitalization hovering around $1.2 trillion. Furthermore, there has been very little movement in the crypto top ten aside from Dogecoin (DOGE), which has dumped 8.6% following Elon Musks Twitter meddling.

Ethereum is currently changing hands for $1,870, cooling from its mid-week and a seven-month high of $1,920.

Further downward pressure could be piled on when all those Ethereum options contracts start expiring this month.

In line with the Trust Project guidelines, this price analysis article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial or investment advice. BeInCrypto is committed to accurate, unbiased reporting, but market conditions are subject to change without notice. Always conduct your own research and consult with a professional before making any financial decisions.

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Ethereum Volatility Likely on the Horizon as Options Expire - BeInCrypto