Cryptocurrency markets were bullish on Thursday, with Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) showing signs of growth after the conclusion of the much-anticipated Shapella upgrade. Ether, in particular, which had previously risen pulled back at around 3:00am ET, signaling that the upgrade completion itself was not responsible for the jump in prices.

The Shapella upgrade on Ethereum was completed Wednesday and the upgrade came with anticipation of the unlocking of 18 million tokens staked on the blockchain. While some analysts expected this to lead to a sell-off, since little demand to withdraw was there, the price held steady. This showed the upgrade may not have been as consequential as had been previously thought.

On Thursday, pre-market indicators show the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes up 0.4% and 0.6%, respectively, and this dollar strength has potentially led to some bullish movements in the Ether and Bitcoin markets as well. While macroeconomic pressures and fallout from the banking crisis have been showing more importance in regards to crypto markets, certain metrics like the perpetual futures spot ratio are still important to follow.

Kaiko researchers have been closely studying the ratio and how it has been changing lately. What they have seen is that the ratio decreased to its lowest level since the merge, causing the markets to be heavily focused on spot rather than futures. The ratio had increased earlier this year due to a crypto market rally and seeing a downtrend since February suggests that the banking crisis and Bitcoin performance are currently more influential on the crypto market as a whole.

Overall, Ethereum's Shapella upgrade may not have been as impactful as previously assumed, but its effects are still being studied closely. The crypto markets, particularly BTC and ETH, have been rallying due to macroeconomic pressures, bank crisis, and continued excellent performance from Bitcoin. Following the perpetual futures spot ratio will be important for us to better understand the crypto market's dynamics and the impact of the Shapella upgrade as it becomes more noticeable.



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