Pre-Merge: Here’s the full scope of the ETH 2.0 Deposit contract

ambcrypto.com:

Ethereum, the world’s largest altcoin, continues to create headlines ahead of the upcoming Merge. As expected, it has been seeing significant demand and adoption from institutions and retail investors/traders. Hence, there is a sense of belongingness around.

The reason behind the much-anticipated upgrade is an obvious one. The same focuses on improving the speed, efficiency, and scalability of the network. Such bullish anticipation has indeed fueled a positive environment for what’s about to come.

Source: Glassnode

ETH 2.0 saw deposits surge from about 8 million in mid-May 2022 to a press time value of over 13 million. To be specific, according to Glassnode, the number of staking ETH 2.0 deposit contract addresses hit 13,302,229.

The deposit contract on the Beacon Chain, launched in November 2020, allows ETH holders to lock their assets ahead of the switch. That’s indeed the case here with the world’s largest altcoin.

ETH, at press time, was trading well above the $2k mark on the charts. Yes, the hype and FOMO around the Merge played a huge role here.

Surging demand amidst supply burns and ETH addresses too contributed to the asset’s move beyond fear. Let’s look at the latter first –

For instance, data from CryptoQuant revealed that active ETH addresses hiked to new highs (>400,000 in a day), compared to its previous figures.

Source: CryptoQuant

This could be a sign that new investors/traders jumped into this pool, alongside undeterred HODLers.

Here, the latter cohort has continued to hold ETH, regardless of market conditions. In fact, the number of addresses holding 10+ ETH also touched an ATH, at press time, as per Glassnode’s latest insights.