By
Benjamin Njiri
April 23rd, 2024
The Berlin upgrade is one of the many improvements that will make the Ethereum blockchain attractive for DeFi-backed DApps.
The long-awaited Berlin upgrade has gone live on the Ethereum (ETH) mainnet, an event that is fueling a bullish market sentiment in favor of the digital currency. The upgrade went live at block number 1224400 and based on timing, the block figure was attained at 10:08 am UTC according to Etherscan.
Later Etherscan reported that a consensus error was detected at block number 12244294. According to the latest info, the issue affected only OpenEthereum nodes.
ETH Hits ATH
Ethereum (ETH) bulls are capitalizing on the future prospects of the Berlin upgrade to push the price of the cryptocurrency to a new all-time high (ATH). Earlier today, the digital currency which currently stands as the world’s second-largest by market capitalization surged to $2,489.49 after a gain of over 20% in the past week according to CoinMarketCap.
Ethereum’s price journey has been eclectic all week long as the coin has charted a path for itself by breaking away from the strong correlation with Bitcoin (BTC). Creating new support at the $2,400 price mark, the digital currency is well on track to discover new price territories and market analysts believe this Berlin upgrade can be the catalyst for the unprecedented rally.
Imagine selling your ETH right now, one day before Berlin upgrade and improvements. I don't think people understand that this in combination with L2s and flashbots dealing with MEV on major projects is gonna lower gas fees like crazy. We are already seeing the initial effects.
— Alucard.eth 🦇🔊🔴_🔴 | -115.eth | dracula.lens (@Alucard_eth) April 13, 2021
There is a bigger life ahead of the Ethereum network as it fights to maintain its place as the world’s most used blockchain network through the decentralized finance smart contracts building on it. The Berlin upgrade is one of the many improvements that will make the blockchain attractive for DeFi-backed DApps and the general ecosystem as a whole. The upgrade is particularly needed at this time when other emerging blockchain networks like the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) are competing with Ethereum for the new crop of DeFi projects being launched.
What the Berlin Upgrade Means for the Ethereum Blockchain
The Berlin upgrade is a protocol that will help address the troubling issues of high network fees the Ethereum blockchain is experiencing. The Berlin upgrade which has been deployed on the Ropsten, Goerli, and Rinkeby networks back in March introduces four EIPs or “Ethereum Improvement Proposals” to the network, of which two of them (EIP-2929 and EIP-2930) affect how the gas cost of the transactions carried out on the blockchain is computed.
“Both these EIPs [EIP-2929 and EIP-2718] are prerequisites in getting EIP-1559, the long-awaited transaction fee upgrade, deployed to the network this summer,” said project lead developer at Ethereum to accointing.com.
The EIP 1559 upgrade is expected in July, and besides the overall influence on the transaction cost, it will also make the Ethereum coin a deflationary asset.
According to an earlier report by Coinspeaker, with the EIP 1559 implementation, the gas fee will go directly to the network itself in the form of “burn”. The “burn” is also dubbed as a base fee with only an optional tip paid to the miners. Burning cryptocurrencies have been proven to increase the valuation of the asset and Ethereum bulls are particularly gearing up for this reality.