The world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, has added more than 5 million new addresses in the last 30 days, as anticipation around the upcoming upgrades continues to surge. 

Data indicates Ethereum registered roughly 5.37 million addresses between Jun 6th,2021 - July 6th,2021, which means the network added approximately 173, 235 uniques addresses each day.
<h2>Ethereum Adds More Active Addresses Before Future Upgrades</h2>
Ether demand has grown exponentially over the last few days which has contributed to the rise in the number of daily active participants transferring the token. Last week, the asset surpassed Bitcoin in terms of active addresses for the third time in a month. 

According to Celsius Network CEO Alex Mashinsky, Ethereum has already <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qyFUxxVQVU" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">started to flip</a> Bitcoin with broader adoption on the horizon. He believes layer-2 solutions will benefit Ethereum’s ecosystem and fix the prevailing issues in the foreseeable future.

Mashinsky also suggests that <a href="https://www.cryptoknowmics.com/news/ethereums-london-hard-fork-to-be-implemented-in-august/">ETH 2.0,</a> which promises to solve Ethereum’s scalability issues, will be a major improvement on layer-2 solutions but will also work in tandem with them.

With Ethereum overtaking Bitcoin in a key transaction and trading metric, many expect that the asset is poised to become the largest cryptocurrency in the market. For instance, investment bank <a href="https://www.cryptoknowmics.com/news/ethereum-may-overcome-bitcoin-as-store-of-value-but-not-gold-due-to-high-volatility-says-goldman-sachs/">Goldman Sachs</a> highlighted in a note to its investors that the asset may surpass Bitcoin to become a better store of value.
<h2>Ethereum’s London hard Fork and EIP-1559 Upgrade</h2>
Starting August 4, the Ethereum network will implement a highly anticipated upgrade dubbed the London hard fork which contains the EIP-1559 proposal. ETH’s principal developer Tim Beiko stated on July 6 that the mainnet upgrade will take place at block 12,965,000, due to which the London hard fork has been scheduled in August, instead of mid to late July as originally expected.

The protocol upgrade will introduce a new fee structure, which has been hotly debated for reducing miner revenue. It will also make Ethereum mining more difficult on the network, thereby “freezing” the proof-of-work before the transition to proof-of-stake consensus.
<h2>Swiss Digital Asset Bank Offers Ethereum 2.0 Staking to Clients</h2>
Swiss digital asset bank <a href="https://www.sygnum.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Sygnum</a> has begun offering Ethereum 2.0 staking to its clients via its institutional-grade banking platform. The institution will enable clients to earn a 7% annual yield on their staking and will integrate the staking services into its own platform with a user-friendly interface.

Sygnum is well-aware of Ethereum’s capabilities to host powerful decentralized finance(DeFi) applications and would like to establish a secure setup for its client to gain exposure to the asset. The bank had previously hinted at its plans of introducing crypto staking accounts for its customers.

Speaking on the benefits of the new offering, Thomas Eichenberger, Head of Business Units at Sygnum Bank, said, “Ethereum is the second-largest blockchain protocol, and Ethereum staking is a core element for digital asset portfolios which can now be accessed in a convenient, secure and regulated setting.”

He added, “This further expands Sygnum’s offering of attractive, regulated yield generating products to meet the needs of clients to accumulate other forms of return in addition to capital appreciation.”

With a market capitalization of $250 billion, Ethereum is the biggest smart contract platform that has several DeFi protocols built on top of it.
<h2>The Ethereum 2.0 Upgrades</h2>
Ethereum 2.0 is a collection of upgrades aimed at making the network more scalable, sustainable, and secure. These upgrades would see the Ethereum blockchain transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake model, which is widely considered to be more eco-friendly.

To date, the ETH 2.0 contract has garnered more than $14 billion in staking. The changes proposed in the upgrades are expected to be implemented in late 2021 or early 2022.

Ethereum Registers Over 5 Million Unique Addresses Before Upgrades

Ethereum has added more than 5 million new addresses in the last 30 days, as anticipation around the upcoming upgrades continues to surge. 

Divya is a postgraduate from Jawaharlal Nehru University specializing in International Relations and a professional writer with more than 5 years of experience writing for the web. She is an avid reader interested in the global financial system and the effects of decentralization. At Cryptoknowmics, she hopes to deliver clear and understandable content to inform readers about the latest events in the crypto sector.

Ethereum Registers Over 5 Million Unique Addresses Before Upgrades

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