Ethereum 2.0, the network upgrade of ETH, has crossed 3 million ETH under its deposit contract as the Ethereum community extended their support for ETH 2.0. The total value of ETH locked under the network upgrade jumped above $5.4 billion after the recent jump in the price of the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency.

Ethereum 2.0 started its journey in December 2020 with the launch of Beacon Chain. ETH 2.0 deposit contract crossed 1 million ETH within the first week of its launch. The Ethereum network has started its journey to shift from the current proof-of-work network to a more efficient and improved proof-of-stake network.

The ETH price is up nearly 150% since the start of 2021. The world’s second-largest digital asset registered an all-time high of $1,870 on 13 February as the total market cap of Ethereum jumped above $210 billion. As of writing, the cryptocurrency is trading near $1,750 with a total market cap of $200 billion.

The CME Group launched Ethereum Futures Contracts last week and the Group reported trading of 388 ETH contracts with a total trading volume of $33.6 million on its first day. Additionally, ETH’s on-chain network activity has increased significantly in the last few months as now the network is settling more value than BTC.

Ethereum Inflows

Finance Magnates earlier reported a significant jump in Ethereum-related weekly crypto inflows. ETH accounted for nearly 80% of the total $245 million crypto inflows during the first week of February 2021. Institutional demand for the world’s second-largest crypto-asset jumped substantially since the launch of Ethereum 2.0. Now, Grayscale has 3.13 million ETH under management with a total value of $5.67 billion. The CEO of Grayscale Michael Sonneshein reported growing interest in Ethereum-related investment products.

Ethereum 2.0 received strong support from the crypto community as staking participants are hopeful for an improved version of the network in the form of ETH 2.0. The current transaction fee of ETH is a big issue for the users, the network upgrade aims to address the issue of large transaction fees and the number of transactions per second.