For the first time since July of 2018 Ethereum has surpassed $500. Is ETH just following Bitcoin’s lead? Not quite. Ethereum’s rise to $500 is actually due to its influx of millionaire support for their long-awaited ETH 2.0 upgrade.

Hopes were low as the project neared its first Phase 0 deadline of November 23 with—as of the November 20th—only 20% of the 524,288 ETH needed to move forward. 

Luckily, in the past 48 hours an influx of support has flowed into the project to reach 45% completion at 238,528 ETH at the time of writing. Most recently, Khurram Shroff, entrepreneur and chairman of the IBC, a Dubai Firm, announced a commitment of $10 million—equivalent to 20,000 ETH—to move ETH phase 0 forward. 

While this increases the number of validators, the deadline is just a day away to complete phase 0—a nearly impossible feat. And if not met, the launch will push back 7 days from its December 1st launch, delaying the entire project until reached. 

The good news is that the support for ETH 2.0 is raising the price of Ethereum (see the chart above from CryptoQuant.com to see the correlation.) And the really good news is that the price should go up as the deposits keep rolling into the crypto market. 

Cryptoquant also predicts that at a rate of 301.13 ETH per hour, phase 0 should take 58 days to meet its goal. And if it continues at this pace then ETH 2.0 could finish by January 15, 2021. This is an optimistic projection as time is just as essential as funds to complete the entire transition to ETH 2.0.

In the meantime, whales and small traders alike are enjoying Ethereum’s rise above $500.

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