The past week saw pivotal developments in the Ethereum ecosystem—from major corporate adoption to project sunsets and governance debates. This comprehensive weekly report breaks down the latest movements in ETH’s price action, ecosystem innovations, and key industry news, offering insights into what’s shaping the future of one of the most influential blockchains.
Market Overview
Ethereum’s native token, ETH, continued its sideways movement this week, reflecting broader market caution amid limited catalysts. Despite brief upward momentum, prices ended slightly lower, closing at 136.52 USDT on Huobi Pro—down 2% week-on-week. The asset failed to hold above critical moving averages, including the 5-day (136.61) and 10-day (137.5) lines.
A notable technical development occurred on Saturday, March 23: the “death cross” formed between the 5-day and 10-day moving averages. This bearish signal reverses last week’s “golden cross,” suggesting downward pressure may persist in the short term.
If the 5-day average dips below the 30-day line soon, an “bearish alignment” could emerge—where shorter-term averages sit beneath longer ones—potentially triggering stronger downward momentum. Currently, the 5-day line is approaching this threshold, indicating continued volatility ahead.
On-Chain Funding Trends
According to AIcoin data, net capital inflows into ETH totaled approximately $16.28 million** this week, a 50% drop compared to the previous period. Wednesday saw the highest outflow—nearly **$36.83 million—while Sunday recorded over $45 million in inflows, suggesting renewed interest during weekend dips.
With no major upcoming events likely to attract institutional attention immediately, ETH is expected to remain range-bound in the near term, closely tracking Bitcoin’s trajectory.
Futures & Derivatives Market
Data from OKEx shows minimal movement across ETH futures contracts:
- Weekly contract settlement: $135.09 (+2.05% vs prior week)
- Quarterly & next-week contracts: up ~1%
- Compared to two weeks ago: slight overall decline of ~1%
Total open interest for ETH perpetual contracts stood at around 10.63 million contracts, down 8% week-on-week—indicating reduced speculative activity.
However, sentiment remains cautiously optimistic:
- Long-to-short account ratio: 62:35
- Long-to-short position ratio: marginally favors bulls
Notably, both “bankruptcy loss allocation” and “insurance fund redistribution” remained at zero—meaning profitable traders did not need to cover losses from liquidated positions. This reflects improved market stability and risk management on derivatives platforms.
Large Transaction Activity
Chainalysis-style analysis via Tokenview reveals a significant uptick in large ETH transfers:
- Transfers exceeding 5,000 ETH: up 50% week-on-week
- Transfers above 10,000 ETH: also rose by 50%
- Peak activity occurred on Saturday
Seven transactions involved more than 50,000 ETH, with one reaching 100,000 ETH. Most originated from exchanges and were sent to addresses ranked within the top 50 holders—strong indicators of whale accumulation or strategic buying during price dips.
This pattern suggests that despite short-term bearish signals, some investors view current levels as attractive entry points.
Ecosystem & Technical Developments
Upcoming Milestones on the Ethereum Roadmap
Several key dates are approaching for Ethereum’s development community:
- Apr 4–5: Deconomy Summit in Seoul
- Apr 8–14: ETHHack Sydney (hosted by Edcon)
- Apr 19–21: ETHGlobal Cape Town Hackathon
- May 9: Ethereum NYC Liquidity Summit
- May 10–11: Ethereal Summit
- May 17: Deadline for Istanbul hard fork proposal submissions
- Jun 1: Ethereum 1x upgrade implementation
- Jul 2: Scheduled fork date for ETH/ETC divergence
- Jul 30: Ethereum’s 4th anniversary (Frontier launch in 2015)
- Oct 2025: Istanbul hard fork deployment (block height TBD)
Additionally, the Beacon Chain—the core proof-of-stake (PoS) layer—is still on track for a late 2025 mainnet launch, assuming:
- Q1: Specification finalization
- Q2: Cross-client testnet rollout
- Q3: Security audits
- Q4: Mainnet deployment
DApp Landscape Update
As per DappReview, there are now 1,659 active DApps on Ethereum, with 16 new additions this week. However, only half attracted any users within seven days.
The highest-performing new DApp was Big Health Investment Management Platform, recording 24.36 ETH in volume with just 12 daily active users—highlighting concerns about engagement and sustainability in high-risk yield models.
Dominant categories remain:
- Gambling & prediction markets
- Decentralized exchanges (DEXs)
Among them, IDEX continues to lead in both user activity and trading volume—a testament to its hybrid model balancing speed and decentralization.
Mining Metrics
Post-hard-fork adjustments have stabilized mining conditions:
- Average block time: ~13.4 seconds (down from previous highs)
- Network hash rate: 147.2 TH/s (↓3.66%)
- Mining difficulty: 1846T (↓2.94%)
Despite the reduction in block rewards from 3 to 2 ETH per block, total daily mining revenue has remained relatively stable due to improved efficiency and lower uncle rates.
Key News Highlights
Samsung SDS Launches Ethereum-Powered Logistics Solution
Samsung SDS, the IT arm of Samsung Electronics, unveiled a new blockchain solution built on Ethereum called Deliver. Designed for international trade, it enables logistics firms, shipping companies, ports, and customs authorities to share data securely via distributed ledger technology.
Piloted with the Port of Rotterdam and ABN AMRO Bank, Deliver aims to streamline documentation, reduce fraud, and accelerate clearance processes—marking a significant step toward enterprise-grade blockchain adoption.
👉 See how developers are building real-world enterprise tools on Ethereum today.
Mist Browser Officially Discontinued
The Ethereum Foundation-backed Mist wallet and browser has officially ceased operations. Founder Alex Van de Sande cited persistent security challenges as the primary reason for discontinuation.
Once considered the flagship interface for interacting with dApps, Mist paved the way for modern Web3 browsers. The team will now focus on supporting other EF-funded projects through UX design and product strategy.
MakerDAO Proposes Higher Stability Fees
MakerDAO is advancing a governance proposal to increase stability fees for generating DAI loans to 7.5%, up from 3.5%. After receiving support from over 40,746 MKR tokens, the executive vote began on March 22.
Higher fees aim to strengthen system solvency amid volatile collateral values—a move signaling growing maturity in decentralized governance.
Filament Joins Enterprise Ethereum Alliance
U.S.-based IoT startup Filament has joined the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA) to help develop open standards and reference architectures for industrial blockchain applications. Their integration of Ethereum into machine-to-machine communication highlights growing cross-industry interest.
CFTC Seeks Public Input on Ethereum Regulation
CFTC Commissioner Dan Berkovitz revealed that the agency has received over 30 public responses regarding Ethereum’s regulatory status. Some submissions were “very detailed,” he noted—indicating serious market engagement.
With potential futures contracts on the horizon, regulatory clarity remains crucial for institutional adoption.
Vitalik Buterin: Governance & Scalability in Focus
At Token2049, Vitalik Buterin emphasized two critical themes:
- Ecosystem Growth Beyond Tech: He praised emerging stablecoins and crypto-integrated browsers like Brave and Opera for enhancing accessibility.
Scalability Challenges: Buterin admitted Ethereum faces a bottleneck, with only two viable scaling paths:
- Transitioning smart contracts to a “stateless” model
- Introducing storage rent for contract execution (though vulnerable to attacks)
He also defended Ethereum’s current governance model as effective despite being underappreciated.
Vlad Zamfir Critiques “Code Is Law” Doctrine
Ethereum Foundation researcher Vlad Zamfir challenged the notion of absolute code autonomy. He argued that “code is law” is an oversimplification that ignores necessary human oversight and legal integration. Advocating against full decentralization dogma, he stressed that sustainable systems require accountable governance—not just immutable protocols.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Why did Mist browser shut down?
A: The Mist team cited ongoing security challenges and resource constraints as primary reasons. Development has ended, but lessons learned will support future dApp projects.
Q: What does the “death cross” mean for ETH price?
A: A death cross indicates short-term bearish momentum when the 5-day moving average falls below the 10-day line. While not definitive, it often precedes downward trends if confirmed by volume and fundamentals.
Q: Is Ethereum still scaling effectively?
A: Scaling remains a challenge. Current solutions include statelessness and storage rent models, but both come with trade-offs. Layer-2 solutions like rollups are gaining traction as interim fixes.
Q: Who is buying large amounts of ETH recently?
A: Chain data shows transfers from exchanges to top-tier wallets—common behavior among whales or institutions accumulating during consolidation phases.
Q: When is the next major Ethereum upgrade?
A: The Istanbul hard fork is expected in October 2025, pending final proposals. Prior to that, Ethereum 1x upgrades begin in June to improve performance pre-PoS transition.
Q: How can I track real-time ETH transactions?
A: Tools like Tokenview and Etherscan provide live monitoring of large transfers, gas usage, and contract interactions—essential for informed trading decisions.