Ethereum Handled Friend.tech Frenzy Without 'Gas Fee' Spike. Why That's a Big Deal

Friend.tech, Crypto's latest fad, didn't drive up congestion and fees on Ethereum the way frenzies have in the past – possibly a sign that the blockchain's efforts to scale by fostering supplemental "layer-2" networks, like Coinbase's new Base, are bearing fruit.

Timeline of Ethereum

Ethereum has rapidly become the second most valuable cryptocurrency after Bitcoin. With its recent transition to a proof-of-stake consensus model and its expanded capabilities, Ethereum's future looks bright.

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) moved higher, with the cryptocurrency prices trading above the $27,000 level on Wednesday. Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), also recorded gains, trading above the key $1,700 mark this morning.

Ethereum client Nethermind on Wednesday said it has released an update for validators clients and node operators to effectively update to the upcoming Holesky testnet. Meanwhile, Ethereum clients have started offering updates in response to the Holesky testnet launch on September 15, which marks a significant step in Ethereum's evolution.

ETH price reacted to Grayscale Investments' triumph over the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday, climbing from support at $1,630 to highs above the resistance at $1,700. A new weekly high was achieved at $1,740 before the momentum waned allowing the ongoing retracement at $1,715.

Following on the heels of the goals set with Polygon 2.0, the Polygon Labs team expands its presence even further in the world of Ethereum-based zk blockchains by launching the Chain Development Kit (CDK).

Large holders of Ethereum (ETH) have displayed bearish behavior on the second-largest crypto asset by market cap since around April, according to Santiment. Santiment's director of marketing Brian Quinlivan says that addresses holding between 10 and 10,000 ETH turned bearish around April, a contrast to their bullish stance witnessed in the fourth quarter of 2022.

A crypto market analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence thinks it's already “pretty clear” that Ethereum (ETH) will win the “upcoming stablecoin wars.” Jamie Coutts says on the social media platform X that Ethereum and its broader ecosystem, including layer-2 projects like Optimism (OP), Base and Arbitrum (ARB), leads all other alternative networks across most network-adoption metrics.

Grayscale's victory over the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on August 29 effectively ended a negative Ethereum (ETH) market trend. As a result, the price of ETH rose from a 24-hour low of $1,638.13 to a new 7-day high of $1,742.64 before hitting resistance.

On-chain data shows the Ethereum sharks and whales have continued to sell for four months now, a sign that the asset may not recover soon. Ethereum May Not Be In The Best Situation Right Now In a new insight post, the on-chain analytics firm Santiment has looked into how the various metrics related to Ethereum look like at the moment to get hints about the asset's future outcome.

The Australian Central Bank has sent shockwaves through the financial realm by unveiling a pioneering pilot program for a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), founded on the Ethereum blockchain.