Ethereum hits new ATH after Altair upgrade shows clear path to the merge

The price of Ethereum (ETH) has bounced to a new all time high (ATH) today as it hit $4,400.97 at around 1:02 am UTC, according to the ETH/USD price indexs on Coinbase and Coinmarketcap.

At the time of writing, ETH is currently priced at $4,380, with the asset surging around 46.6% since the start of October. Coinmarketcap’s price index indicates that the previous ATH was only eight days ago, with the asset reaching a price of $4,308.48 on Oct. 21.

ETH has been on a bullish tear since dropping to around $1,780 on July 21, and has since gained 147% to rise to a new point of price discovery.

Cointelegraph reported yesterday that the Ethereum 2.0 Altair Beacon Chain update had a successful start, with 98.7% of nodes upgraded at the time. A successful Altair upgrade to the Beacon Chain was seen as important factor clearing the way to the merge with the Ethereum mainnet and the transition to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism in Ethereum 2.0.

Ethereum's success is also being driven by the platform’s use in the booming decentralized finance (DeFi) and nonfungible token (NFT) sectors. They highlight ongoing rising demand for Ether in the future, thus ensuring additional tailwinds to its bullish outlook in Q4 2021 and possibly into 2022.

Just so we are clear - I am more than irresponsibly long ETH right now. I now have leverage but via calls. This is by far and away the biggest personal position of my entire life by a factor of 10 (or more). My view horizon for this part of the trade is 6 to 9 months.

— Raoul Pal (@RaoulGMI) October 29, 2021

Since July, Ethereum has also undergone important upgrades such as the London Hard Fork that introduced a deflationary burning mechanism to the asset as part of the network’s fee structure.

Related: Data shows Ethereum bulls expect a new ATH after Friday’s $1.25B ETH options expiry

The overall market sentiment in crypto has also been positive of late, with the SEC approving multiple Bitcoin futures-based ETFs to launch on the New York Stock Exchange. Bitcoin hit new all time high prices in the wake of the news.