The Make Or Break Move For Ethereum You Need To Know About

The Ethereum Upgrade, It’s Here, Maybe

With the cryptocurrency markets wallowing near long-term lows traders are wondering what it will take to renew interest in the technology. Well my friends, let me tell you. The cryptocurrency markets are down for a couple of reasons and one of them is the long awaited upgrade and improvement of the Ethereum network.

Ethereum, the world’s most advanced cryptocurrency, has long been plagued by sluggish speeds, security issues, and inflationary concerns related to the POW style of blockchain mining. The upgrades, labeled Constantinople, is the second half of a consensus-backed hardfork that is aiming to solve many of these issues.

The upgrade will include 5 (five) EIP’s, Ethereum Improvement Protocols, including a reduction of block rewards that is intended to delay a difficulty bomb whose purpose is to facilitate the implementation of POS networking. The good news, the double good news, is that the upgrade is consensus-backed, as in it is a hardfork but it won’t result in a new coin, and that it’s actually coming after 18 months of speculation.

The upgrade is planned for mid-January and could be the spark ETH has needed to drive it higher. While the Constantinople upgrade won’t solve all the problems facing the Ethereum network it will help the implementation of second-layer solutions such as OmiseGo and Raiden. What this means is that ETH will see its value increase exponentially as a surge in OMG and Raiden value will compound any increase in value seen ETH.

Ethereum Price Analysis, HODL’ers Holding Out

ETH/USD has been drifting higher since hitting bottom in mid-December. The bottom, hit on low volume, bears the hallmarks of a bear-trap that traders should be wary of. While there is reason to think ETH may continue to see its value fall there are equally abundant reasons to think the opposite.

Over the last week the ETH/USD has reached a six-week high that is supported by the indicators. Both MACD and stochastic are bullish and suggest upward drift will continue until the upgrade goes into effect. Once done we should see ETH spike with a chance of hitting$200 or $220 within a few week’s of the release.

Longer-term ETH and all cryptocurrency/blockchain investments are being held back by regulation. Regulation, or lack of it, has kept investment dollars at bay and will continue to do so until a solid framework can be erected. The good news on this front is the BAAKT network. BAAKT is a joint-venture between ICE and partners and the best crytp-based infrastructure on the planet because it is SEC/CFTC compliant (exchange trading, clearing houses, third-party custodial services).

Bottom line; Ethereum is on the brink of truly changing the blockchain ecosphere. The combination of ETH upgrades, the switch to POS, and the added catalysts of US regulation is a force that will push ETH to retest its all-time highs (sooner or later).