While the world awaits the results of the US election, one of the most anticipated events in the cryptocurrency industry is finally achieving greater certainty: Ethereum 2.0, the long-awaited upgrade to the blockchain network, will launch on December 1, according to the Ethereum Foundation.

The news, it seems, is being taken very well by the markets: the price of EthereumEthereum jumped by more than 4% following the announcement. ETH is once again trading above the $400 per token mark after falling as low as $370 earlier this week.

Ethereum
ETH
+1.74%$1,837.06

24H7D1M1YMAX
Created with Highcharts 10.3.312:00PMMay 112:00PMMay 212:00PMMay 312:00PMMay 412:00PMMay 512:00PMMay 612:00PMMay 7$1725$1750$1775$1800$1825$1850$1875

At the moment, Ethereum is trading for right around $401, with momentum swinging in favor of ETH bulls.

It's a welcomed shift in momentum for Ethereum investors. October was a rough month for Ethereum-based decentralized financedecentralized finance (or "DeFi"). Previously, DeFi had enjoyed a red-hot summer in which users sank billions of dollars into experimental, non-custodial financial products.

The boom led to a surge of activity on the Ethereum network, which at times tested the technical limits of the blockchain. At the time, observers were hopeful that the ETH 2.0 upgrade, which will transition Ethereum from a proof-of-workproof-of-work to a proof-of-stakeproof-of-stake network and promises to dramatically increase throughput, would soon come to the rescue.

That all came to a halt in September, as DeFi stagnated and usage of the Ethereum network dropped. October was even worse. But should DeFi be poised for a comeback come winter, it appears Ethereum 2.0 will be ready to handle the load.

And that could spell good news for the price of Ethereum.

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed by the author are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice.

Daily Debrief Newsletter

Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.