According to CoinDesk data, Ether (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, dropped to $1,833 on Friday afternoon, which is the lowest price since April 9. As a result, the price gains of ETH’s recent rally following the seamless implementation last week of the highly anticipated Shanghai upgrade have now been erased. Since Tuesday, ETH has declined by more than 13%, falling 5.3% over the past 24 hours, as investors continue to weigh macroeconomic and crypto-industry-focused uncertainties that have affected the wider digital asset market.
The April 12 hard fork, which was the last major step in transforming the Ethereum blockchain from a proof-of-work to a more energy-efficient proof-of-stake protocol, enabled withdrawals of some $35 billion worth of tokens locked in staking contracts. After this event, ETH began to surge, reaching its highest level in 11 months. However, since Tuesday, ETH’s steady decline has come amid a wider price slump.
Edward Moya, the senior market analyst of foreign exchange market maker Oanda, said Thursday on CoinDesk TV that crypto markets have been showing weakness in the past few days due to concerns around sticky inflation, stock market earnings, and the looming recession, which have dragged prices lower. Bitcoin was recently trading at about $27,200, down more than 3% over the past 24 hours, and has tumbled more than 10% from a high Tuesday above $30,000.
