After experiencing a spectacular bull run since the beginning of 2023, the price of ETH started to experience a major downturn, which seems too early to be confirmed as a rejection. The price of ETH is currently in a precarious position where it appears that either of the two scenarios is possible, meaning that in the coming hours, the token may be vulnerable to a significant increase or decrease. For the majority of cryptocurrencies at the start of the year, including the somewhat inflated ETH price, it was considered bullish. The lower trend line, which the price was trading along, doesn't seem to be strong enough to sustain the bearish pressure.

ETH Gas Wars Gas (ETH Gas) is the cost associated with completing a transaction or carrying out a contract on the Ethereum network. The concept of gas was initially created as a way to compensate miners for their work in upkeep and security of the blockchain. When the proof of stake algorithm was adopted in September 2022, gas fees were introduced as a reward for staking ETH and participating in validation; the more a person has staked, the more they can earn.

This ETH gas charge has been one of the greatest problems for the Ethereum network. It is also the main impediment to the network's scalability.

A writer and bitcoin enthusiast named Jason A. Williams recently tweeted a snarky comment about Ethereum. He mentioned in this tweet that a single transaction cost $39,050 in gas fees. This tweet demonstrates how much work still has to be done on the Ethereum network to prevent gas wars and prohibitive transaction fees for users.

ETH Shifts Towards Staking Besides these gas concern and decreasing ETH price, The on-chain analytics-focused Twitter account @lookonchain has prediction that A long-dormant Ether whale who participated in the Ethereum Initial Coin Offering (ICO) might be about to stake a massive 32,015 ETH tokens.

A change in the ETH market can be seen in the above-mentioned whale's (potential) shift toward staking a larger percentage of its ETH holdings. On the beacon chain, ETH staking was first made feasible in late 2020. According to Ethereum, the lack of flexibility in staked ETH withdrawals was to protect the network's integrity as it transitioned from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake.

Besides, the platform is gearing up for the Shangai Hard Fork and the developers have already created a shadow fork of the same. Hence, the bullish momentum is believed to mount significantly in the coming days. With the future upgrade, it will be possible to withdraw staked ETH for the first time. Although withdrawals won't be made right away, the move towards more flexible withdrawal options appears to be luring more ETH owners to staking.

With above all indicators being implemented and rise in traders and investors interest in ethereum, we can expect Ethereum price prediction 2023 to initiate on a bullish note. Which could drive in more alliances, adoptions, and investors. Wherefore, the price of ETH could end the trade for 2023 at $1866.79 as per coinpedia.