Constantinople Hard Fork: Where is Ethereum at now?

Last December, developers at the Ethereum Foundation reached the consensus to activate the upgrade, known as hard fork in the crypto space, Constantinople. It will be the fifth planned system-wide upgrade and is estimated to take place at block height 7,080,000, which will occur next Wednesday, Jan. 16. Just like any other hard fork, this needs to be installed in all corresponding nodes across the network for it to function.

Successful Testnet Trial  

At the time of writing, current Ethereum block height is at 7,063,341, only 16,659 away from the scheduled upgrade. Last week, Ethereum announced on Twitter that the exact date is still subject to change depending on the exact block height, which could be a day or two different. Just like previous hard forks, the upgrades will interrupt the current compatibility and all full-node operators will have to upgrade the clients once Constantinople goes live.

Meanwhile, Ethereum core developer Péter Szilágyi confirmed the success of The Rinkeby Testnet took place on Jan. 10. The Testnet is a positive indicator for the upcoming hard fork, though the previous year’s launch was delayed after the Ropsten Testnet failed. In fact, the most highly discussed hard forks in Ethereum’s history was the one after DAO hack due to its unplanned nature. The Ethereum community diverted, resulting in the creation of Ethereum Classic. However, Constantinople hard fork was largely supported by the community.

Recent Fluctuating Market $ETH

The past month was a roller coaster ride for ETH. In December 2018, the price has been fluctuating drastically since the announcement of Constantinople hard fork. The market has an overall positive attitude towards the coin, with the highest price surge of 88% from $85 to $160. But that did not sustain to 2019. On Jan. 10, the market price dumped 14% in one day. The network upgrade should give Ethereum a boost but the prices didn’t reflect so. It is expected to hover at $110-$120 in the following days until the hard fork took place.

The price trend before a hard fork is expected to be similar. Like last BCH hard fork, the price and trading volume hit the highest point and gradually decreased. This time for Ethereum Constantinople hard fork, the trading volume mimicked the typical trend. In Dec 2018, ETH trades spiked with a highest volume of 4,370,343,387, doubling the amount in 2 weeks. Below chart clearly shows a exhaustion profile following three consecutive weeks of decrease.

Ethereum is still distance from the bears. CoinCola Research Center holds a cautious attitude towards their  strength and the intensity of price decrease.

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