Is the ETH Prague upgrade on May 7 really worth paying attention to? Is #ETH really garbage?
The market has been quiet these past few months, with retail and novice investors mostly observing. After experiencing a significant drop, I believe many are confused about the future.
Four years ago, the market was at the peak of a bull market. The stark contrast between now and the past has led many to question the bull market. For retail investors and newcomers to the crypto space, the market does not spark interest, but seasoned institutions and professional investors believe this is a time worth watching. A significant positive development is the Ethereum Prague upgrade on May 7.
My personal understanding of Prague
The key focus of the Prague upgrade is the optimization of the staking mechanism. The maximum staking limit for a single validator has been increased from 32 ETH to 2048 ETH, which is a 64-fold increase. This lowers operational costs for institutions, attracts more institutions to participate, and enhances staking security. Previously, the SEC did not approve Ethereum ETF staking partly because the institutional ETF staking process was time-consuming. However, after the upgrade, millions of ETH can be fully staked in one day and withdrawn in half a day, supporting the SEC's approval of Ethereum ETF staking and stimulating institutional buying interest. With large amounts of institutional funds, more institutions participating in buying and staking will reduce the circulation of Ethereum, significantly impacting the coin's price.
At the same time, the Prague upgrade enhances Layer 2 data availability, reduces Layer 2 data publishing costs, decreases user transaction fees, alleviates node burdens, increases decentralization, lays the groundwork for future dApp ecosystem development, and attracts more project teams and users.
The quiet market has caused many investors to doubt the value of Ethereum. However, seasoned investors focus on future potential, seeking investment opportunities through in-depth analysis and research, waiting for value to return. In contrast, retail investors tend to focus only on current market performance, following trends during price increases, and easily giving up when the market declines. Professional investors have already positioned themselves, and they may now start to realize profits.
Investment must be objective; one should not judge a project's quality based on short-term price fluctuations. A thorough understanding of a project's 'fundamentals, technical aspects, and policy environment' is necessary to truly assess its value, seeing beyond the surface to grasp significant opportunities.