Ether's Price Volatility: Temporary Gains Amid Market Fluctuations and Upcoming Upgrades

On February 17, Ethereum (ETH) experienced price volatility, initially gaining as much as 7% to $2,850 before retracing to $2,730 amidst a broader market decline, according to Coindesk. This temporary surge was partly fueled by a memecoin frenzy involving the "Wall Street Pepe" token, which accounted for over 25% of Ethereum's transaction fees during a three-hour window, as reported by Etherscan. Despite the price fluctuations, ETH held onto a 2% advance over the past 24 hours. Data from CoinGlass shows that spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States saw modest net inflows of $2 million between Feb. 5 and Feb. 14, but traded 84% less volume on Feb. 17 compared to similar Bitcoin ETFs. The Ether futures basis rate remained relatively stable at 6% on Feb. 17, indicating balanced sentiment among derivatives traders. Looking ahead, Ethereum's upcoming 'Pectra' upgrade is expected to double the blob capacity for rollups, enabling cheaper and faster layer-2 transactions, and introduce 'gasless' transactions, potentially improving the user experience for wallets. However, analysts remain cautious, noting that ETH's ability to break above the $3,000 resistance level depends on resolving ongoing debates about base layer fees and staking returns. LMAX Group's Joel Kruger suggested ether might be ending its multiyear drop against BTC, while CoinPanel's Aran Hawker viewed it as a quick catch-up trade.