According to CryptoPotato, the crypto market in 2024 will be significantly impacted by several events, including the potential spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) release, the upcoming Ethereum Dencun upgrade, and EigenLayer’s staking products launch. The spot Bitcoin ETF launch has already begun to drive activity in the crypto market, with BTC rallying to $45,000 and traders gambling over $3.25 million on the outcome of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) decision on the products. The SEC is expected to respond to over a dozen applications from major asset management firms between January 8 and 10.
The upcoming Ethereum Dencun upgrade, initially scheduled for October 2023, is set to take place in late Q1 or early Q2 of 2024. The update aims to enhance Ethereum layer 2 (L2) rollup efficiency through proto-danksharding, which introduces temporary storage space for higher transactional throughput. The Dencun upgrade is also expected to reduce transaction costs on L2 networks by 10x or more, attracting more economic activity into the ecosystem. Major L2 protocols, such as Optimism’s native token OP and Arbitrum’s ARB, have experienced significant price growth in anticipation of this event.
EigenLayer’s restaking product launch, which provides developers access to the Ethereum staked capital base and decentralized validator set, is another highly anticipated event in 2024. The launch will introduce new applications to the ecosystem and benefit existing liquid staking protocols. According to IntoTheBlock, staking on EigenLayer will provide higher yields than the existing staking rate, and the protocol has already attracted more than $1 billion in deposits, with 70% coming through liquid staking as the community prepares for the products’ launch.
