Dencun’s Upgrade Pushes Prices Higher.

Grayscale analysts believe that the recent surge in Ethereum’s price can be attributed to the anticipation of the Dencun upgrade, a forthcoming technological improvement. According to William Ogden Moore, a research analyst at Grayscale, the upgrade is likely responsible for the 34% increase in ETH’s price over the past 30 days and the 28% increase year-to-date. The upgrade, which aims to enhance throughput and reduce transaction costs, will enable users to spend fewer gas fees and conduct more transactions on Ethereum’s mainnet and layer-2 scaling solutions like Arbitrum. By offering lower fees, Ethereum could potentially gain a larger share of the smart contract business, potentially tapping into a multi-billion-dollar market tied to real-world assets. Grayscale’s positive outlook on Ethereum aligns with its efforts to secure approval for a spot exchange-traded fund, following the successful conversion of its GBTC last month. The company aims to achieve the same with its Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE), which currently manages over $7 billion in assets. The U.S. SEC has deferred its decision on Grayscale’s application until May, along with other issuers.