Cryptocurrency investors are facing delays in withdrawing funds deposited on the Ethereum blockchain following a major upgrade to its software, highlighting their ongoing problems with making the technology more widely used for instant payments.
The software upgrade, known as “Shapella,” was to unlock more than $30 billion worth of ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, that investors had deposited into Ethereum in exchange for interest.
Ethereum rose above $2,000 on Thursday for the first time since August 2022. With an intraday advance of 9.97%, the cryptocurrency reached $2,108.62 per unit at 7:00 p.m. Mexico City time.
So far this year, it accumulates a gain of 67.61%, from $1,199.80 at the end of 2022.
As of Wednesday, investors were unable to withdraw funds they had deposited via this method to Ethereum.
As of Thursday, ethereum, whose market value is $1.4 billion, was stuck in a withdrawal queue, according to data firm Nansen.
It currently holds 19.30% of the entire market value of the sector, equivalent to 241.250 million dollars.
The delays are one example of the limits on transactions that Ethereum can process, highlighting its potential shortcomings in its fight to become a widely used financial infrastructure.
The Ethereum Foundation, a body that speaks on behalf of the network and describes itself as a “non-profit organization dedicated to supporting Ethereum,” had no comment.
Ethereum has become popular in branches of the cryptocurrency market such as decentralized finance, or NFTs, but has yet to be used in mainstream payments, finance, or commerce.
