• Ethereum traders have been buying call options on ETH despite expected uncertainty as the Shanghai Upgrade approaches.
• Despite this positive interest, velocity and network growth have started to decline.
• The potential selling pressure could be offset by ETH being unstaked from the beacon chain after the upgrade.

Ethereum Traders Issue Large Call Options

Despite expected uncertainty due to the upcoming Shanghai Upgrade, Ethereum traders are still buying large call options on ETH. Whales have begun to show interest in Ethereum, however, velocity and network growth have started to decline.

Implied Volatility Dropping

The overall number of traders buying call options has significantly increased in recent times which suggests that many traders are making bullish bets on ETH. One potential reason for this is due to a sharp drop in Implied Volatility for ETH which indicates that the market does not expect much volatility for ETH any time soon.

New Addresses Joining Network

Additionally, new addresses have started joining the Ethereum network and reached an all-time high of 95.89 million addresses according to glass node’s data. Many of these addresses were unprofitable prior but now they are profitable which may lead to an increase in selling pressure on ETH when holders decide to exit their holdings with profits.

ETH Unstaked From Beacon Chain

However, when Ethereum is unstaked from beacon chain after the upgrade completion, those who had staked their holdings will be rewarded with ETH which could potentially offset any selling pressure when holders HODL instead of selling their holdings immediately after receiving them.

Conclusion

Overall, despite expected uncertainty surrounding the Shanghai Upgrade, Ethereum traders have shown positive interest in trading call options while whales start to show more involvement in Ethereum’s market activity too. As such, a spike in network activity was observed culminating into reaching an all-time high of 95 million addresses joining the network according to glass node’s data . While there is potential selling pressure due to holders exiting with profits from newly profitable addresses , it might be offset if those holders decide not sell immediately but rather HODL their rewards from unstaking post Shanghai Upgrade completion .