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Amid the general uptick the crypto market is experiencing at the moment, Ethereum (ETH) is also riding the train, paring off the accrued losses over the past year. While its price is not decoupled from that of Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum's price is up 1.80% to $1,217.91, edging close to its monthly high of $1,346.17.
Ethereum remains the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, trailing only Bitcoin, however, the coin has taken a unique battery with its market cap dropping from its high of about $400 billion. The showcased rally being experienced in the price of Ethereum is antagonistic to its on-chain metrics.
According to data from Glassnode, the Ethereum number of exchange deposits has dropped to its one-month low of 820.881.
This metric shows that investors are still generally HODLing their coins and the rate of trading on trading platforms is at a low ebb. Per the Glassnode data, Ethereum's exchange deposits have been printing new lows lately, showcasing the bearish sentiment that has engulfed the decentralized network over the past month.
Upcoming protocol upgrades
Ethereum as a protocol transitioned from the proof-of-work (PoW) system to its proof-of-stake (PoS) through the Merge. This transition made the ETH network an energy-efficient one with a substrate for protocol functionality through scaling.
The Merge is just one of the five scheduled upgrades that the Ethereum network is bound to undergo before it completely transitions into its PoS consensus model. These remaining upgrades include the Surge, the Verge, the Purge and the Splurge and some of these are on track to be implemented this year.
The community's expectation is that these upgrades will help to enhance the price of Ethereum, pushing it close to its previous all-time high (ATH) of $4,891.70 attained back in November 2021.
Vladislav Sopov