Ethereum price forecast ahead of October's mainnet upgrade

The cryptocurrency market remains under pressure this trading week, and the risk of further declines is still not over. Ethereum ETH/USD has weakened from $4025 below $2700 since the beginning of September 2021, and the current price stands at $2800.

Altair upgrade is scheduled for late October

All major cryptocurrencies have weakened in September 2021 so far, Bitcoin went below $40000 for a moment, and traders should consider that the risk of further decline is not over. If the price of Bitcoin falls again below the $40000 support level, it would be a firm "sell" signal, and this would add further pressure to the whole cryptocurrency market.

Ethereum is also losing its value, and the latest negative news is that it received a lot of backlash from market participants after Bitfinex paid $23 million in transaction fees to deposit $100,000 on the Ethereum Blockchain. A fee attack might be a mistake that will certainly be refunded, but it is ironic to see such a high fee issue from Ethereum, given that the EIP-1559 upgrade was supposed to bring the issue of fee charges to a minimum.

Despite this issue, Ethereum's network continues to enjoy a significantly high hash rate, and strong network fundamentals continue to be one of the main characteristics of Ethereum. Ethereum has successfully attracted the attention of institutional investors this year, and the network's long-planned upgrade to a scalable, proof-of-stake consensus model grows closer as developers set a date for the Altair upgrade.

Altair, which is described as the first mainnet upgrade to the Beacon Chain, is scheduled to take place around October 27th, according to Ethereum Foundation researcher Danny Ryan. Ryan added:

This is certainly positive news that should improve the fundamentals of Ethereum and ensure that the proof-of-stake protocol is economically secure. Technically looking,  Ethereum (ETH) remains under pressure, and if you decide to buy this cryptocurrency ahead of October's mainnet upgrade, you should use a "stop-loss" order because the risk remains high.

Ethereum remains under pressure

Ethereum is trading again below the $3000 price level, indicating that the price could weaken even more. If the price breaks the strong support level that stands at $2500, it would be a very strong "sell" signal, and the next target could be at $2300.

Traders should use "stop-loss" and "take profit" orders when opening their positions because the risk is currently high. On the other side, if the price jumps above $3500, that could be a very good opportunity for the short-term traders, and the next target could be at $3800.

Summary

Ethereum has weakened from the recent highs above $1.10, registered on August 30th, below $0.80, and the current price stands around $0.85. Ethereum announced a long-planned upgrade to a scalable, proof-of-stake consensus model, and according to Ethereum Foundation researcher Danny Ryan, the Altair upgrade is scheduled for late October.