Vitalik Buterin transfers 3,200 Ether to ETH 2.0 deposit contract ahead of mainnet launch

• Ethereum 2.0 deposit contract continues to receive Ether for staking before moving to the mainnet launch.
• Vitalik Buterin believes that the thresholds for stakers and validators will be met before the deadline.

The co-founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, has transferred 3,200 ETH to the newly launched Ethereum 2.0 deposit contract. The transaction is valued at approximately $1.5 at an exchange rate of $460 per Ether.

The deposit contract is an integral part of the Serenity upgrade. Ethereum developers said on November 4 (the time of launch) that investors were free to start depositing their tokens for staking purposes. Moreover, the process is key to the eventual launch of ETH 2.0, helping secure the project.

On the other hand, users who stake their tokens are guaranteed continuous rewards. Currently, 42,245 ETH has already been staked. The number is rising consistently but is still significantly far from the network's threshold at 542,288 ETH. Additionally, Ethereum 2.0 will have to attract not less than 16,384 validators before moving to the mainnet launch.

Vitalik reckons that the deposit is expected to print a slow growth curve in the initial stages. Still, he believes that the amount sent to the contract will rise exponentially towards the end of September. A similar pattern was witnessed in the sale of Ether in 2015, which gained momentum towards the deadline.

Ethereum rally to $500 seems unstoppable

Ethereum managed to build on the support at $430 discussed Friday. Buying pressure increased with Ether spiking to levels above $450. At the time of writing, ETH/USD is changing hands at $460. A golden cross could come into the picture anytime from now if the 50 Simple Moving Average on the 4-hour chart crosses above the 100 SMA, adding weight to the bullish narrative.

It is clear that the trend is in the bulls' hands, and Ethereum could continue the rally to $500. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence reinforces the bullish case as it rises higher within the positive region. A bullish divergence above the MACD is likely to call for more buy orders as the fear of missing out (FOMO) creeps into the market.

ETH/USD 4-hour chart

It is worth noting that the uptrend depends on buyers' ability to keep the price above $460. A correction from this level would create instability with Ethereum bulls shifting the focus to finding support from higher levels at $500. On the downside, potential anchors hold the ground at $440 and $400, respectively.

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