Daily News | ETH Stable Post-Shapella, US CPI Relief Brings Hope for Interest Rates

2023-04-13, 00:59

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## Crypto Daily Digest: Inflation Relief, Shapella Completed, BTC Stable at $30K

The March consumer price index (CPI) grew by 0.1%, which was lower than the estimated 0.2% growth, indicating a slight relief in inflationary pressures. This news has raised hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve will not lower interest rates in May.

<a href="/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin</a>'s price briefly hit $30,400 before dropping below $30,000, while Ether's price remained stable as investors weighed inflation and the <a href="/price/ethereum-eth" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Ethereum</a> Shanghai upgrade. The number of wallets holding significant amounts of crypto, especially those with more than 10,000 BTC, has been increasing since January. This growth potentially represents a support base for BTC prices.

Meanwhile, <a href="/price/ethereum-eth" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Ethereum</a>'s much-anticipated Shanghai hard fork has been completed, allowing users to withdraw their staked ether. The upgrade, called Shapella, signifies the completion of <a href="/price/ethereum-eth" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Ethereum</a>'s transition to a full proof-of-stake network. This transition is expected to improve the security and confirmation of new data blocks. The next issue that <a href="/price/ethereum-eth" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Ethereum</a> will address is scaling the network to make transactions faster and cheaper.

During the hard fork, the price of ETH remained stable, with no significant price rally or crash. Validators have been introduced to keep the network running, and they must stake at least 32 ETH to secure and validate transactions. Liquid staking providers enable people to participate in staking with any amount of ETH.

Despite differing predictions from analysts about the price action of ETH after the upgrade, the native cryptocurrency remains mostly unchanged at around $1,920. Brent Xu, CEO of cross-chain DeFi protocol Umee, believes that ETH and related LSTs will not experience a significant decline in the near future, as institutional investors are holding onto them for the long term. Crypto enthusiasts are also closely watching the shifts in whale activity, as evidenced on Crypto Twitter.

## Ether (ETH) $1913.57 (-0.21%) - Neutral Outlook

![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/1681347490Untitled0413 1.png)

![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/1681347510Untitled0413 2.png)

The price of Ether is showing a steady upward trend on the daily timeframe, but it is facing significant resistance between 1918-1950. The volume profile indicator suggests that the area of interest is around 1800. The hourly price action of ETH indicates that the bullish scenario is still valid because the retracement did not close below the hourly Creek at 1860. However, recent candles with long wicks indicate an increase in volatility, suggesting that it may be best to wait for market participants to settle down. If ETH manages to close above the monthly level of 1918.4, it may retest the recent high of 1937. Conversely, if it closes below JAC at 1904, more selling may occur until ETH reaches 1895-1878.

**Overview:**

- ***Closest hourly support zone: 1905 - 1895***
- ***Closest hourly resistance zone: 1918 - 1932***
- ***Key Level: 1918 (Monthly High of Mar. 2021)***

<br>**Hourly Resistance zones**

1. 1918 - 1932
2. 1937 - 1950
3. 1961 - 1980

<br> **Hourly Support zones**

1. 1905 - 1895
2. 1884 - 1878
3. 1870 - 1860

## Macro: Fed Predicts Mild Recession Later This Year, Markets Brace for Potential Interest Rate Increase

US stocks closed lower on Wednesday following the release of data showing moderated US inflation, but not enough to stop the Federal Reserve from raising interest rates again. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 fell 0.4% and 0.9%, respectively, after signs of an early morning rebound dissipated.

Minutes of the Fed's March meeting revealed that the central bank’s staff predicted a "mild recession" later this year.

Futures on equity benchmarks in Japan and Hong Kong fell in Asian trading, while US futures dipped. The Aussie traded in a narrow range and the yen edged higher following North Korea’s missile launch. Australian bonds were mixed early in the day, with the 10-year yield holding at 3.45%.

On Thursday, Australia is expected to release job data and China is expected to release trade figures for March.

<div class="blog-details-info">
<div>Author:** Peter L. **, Gate.io Researcher
<div class="info-tips">\*This article represents only the views of the researcher and does not constitute any investment suggestions.
<div>\*Gate.io reserves all rights to this article. Reposting of the article will be permitted provided Gate.io is referenced. In all cases, legal action will be taken due to copyright infringement.
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