$BTC ETH/BTC volatility index narrows, Ethereum stands out

According to a recent report, the Bollinger Band index for the ETH/BTC exchange rate has narrowed to its tightest level since June 2020, implying that market volatility may increase. Typically, when the Bollinger Band contracts, prices are preparing to break out, potentially leading to strong volatility.

This technical signal appears just before Ethereum's Pectra upgrade on May 7th. The goal of this upgrade is to improve network scalability and the operational efficiency of validators, including increasing the maximum staking limit of a validator from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH, and increasing the amount of “blob” data per block from 3 to a maximum of 9.

Pectra will also introduce the EVM Object Format (EOF) to optimize smart contract structure. Analysis firm Nansen notes that the Pectra upgrade will be most beneficial for Layer 2 networks, reinforcing Ethereum's position as a data layer by expanding blob capacity and enhancing a rollup-focused scaling strategy.