• Ethereum (ETH) has seen impressive gains since the start of 2023, rising 45% YTD.
• Coinbase recently announced the launch of Base, an Ethereum layer-two sidechain.
• The upcoming Shanghai upgrade and various other factors will influence Ethereum’s future growth prospects.

Recent Updates for Ethereum

Ethereum (ETH) has registered impressive gains since the start of 2023, with a 45% YTD increase from its original price of $1,192. On Feb. 21, ETH surged to a 90-day high of $1,732 before settling at its current price of $1,641 on Mar. 2nd.

Coinbase Launches Base

Coinbase recently announced the launch of Base, a layer-two sidechain for Ethereum that is designed to bring over a billion users into the crypto economy and make onchain transactions more accessible and developer-friendly. This move underscores the strength of ETH’s fundamentals which are expected to fuel long-term growth.

Factors Influencing Ethereum’s Future

The future prospects of ETH depend heavily upon various themes and questions such as scalability issues and user adoption. These will be defining factors in determining Ethereum’s path forward in terms of growth and success.

Upcoming Shanghai Update

Ethereum is ushering in a new era with their upcoming Shanghai upgrade (EIP-4895). After transitioning from proof-of-work consensus mechanism to proof-of-stake (PoS), this update will bring many improvements including increased scalability and enhanced security features for developers building on top of the platform.

Potential Record Setting Growth

As updates like these improve upon the already strong fundamentals propelling ETH growth, investors wonder how this will impact its price in the coming days – especially if it sets new records by 2023 as predicted by some experts in the field!