Ethereum (ETH) Surges Post-43-Day U.S. Shutdown Relief—Vitalik Buterin Drops Bombshell Scaling Blueprint

Ethereum shakes off macro fears as Washington gridlock ends—traders pile back in while Buterin’s roadmap fuels the fire.

The shutdown effect: 43 days of political paralysis gave ETH bears ammunition… until the funding bill passed. Now, sidelined capital’s rushing back—proof that crypto thrives on chaos.

Buterin’s masterstroke: The Ethereum co-founder just unveiled Phase 3 scaling plans. No vague promises—concrete milestones targeting throughput bottlenecks that’ve plagued DeFi’s backbone. (Take notes, Solana maximalists.)

Traders vs. builders: Short-term, price action dominates. Long-term? Buterin’s playing 4D chess while Wall Street still struggles to custody NFTs properly. A cynical take? The Fed will probably ‘discover’ blockchain right as ETH hits its next ATH.

Shutdown Resolution Lifts Market Sentiment as ETH Reclaims Stability

The broader crypto market reacted positively to news of the shutdown’s resolution, helping Ethereum climb 3.18% on the day and outperform Bitcoin with a 3% gain. Analysts now expect ETH to rise toward $3,814 by November 18, representing a potential 10.37% short-term upside.

Despite the improved macro backdrop, ethereum remains in a challenging technical position. Key support lies at $3,333 and $3,300, while resistance at $3,590 and $3,666 will determine whether ETH can break its current downtrend.

ETF products continue to show weakness, with all nine Ethereum ETFs recording zero inflows and a combined $107 million in outflows, suggesting institutions remain cautious.

Vitalik Buterin Unveils Scaling Outlook as DeFi Matures Globally

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin added Optimism to the week by outlining a refreshed scaling roadmap and highlighting DeFi’s evolution into a viable global savings tool.

He emphasized that the DeFi ecosystem is now “night and day” safer compared to 2020, citing better security audits, stronger protocols, and improved user-fund recovery mechanisms through innovations like the “walkaway test.”

Central to Buterin’s roadmap is Ethereum’s ongoing LAYER 1 and Layer 2 scaling strategy. With rollups, data availability upgrades, and new high-throughput solutions, such as systems already achieving over 10,000 transactions per second, Buterin believes Ethereum is on track to support the next wave of DeFi adoption.

He urged developers to maintain Ethereum’s Core values: openness, censorship resistance, and interoperability. Buterin warned that abandoning these principles risks turning Ethereum into a “walled garden,” undermining the ecosystem’s global mission.

A growing bright spot for Ethereum is the explosive expansion of tokenised real-world assets (RWAs). More than $200 billion worth of RWAs now sit on-chain, driven by major institutions such as BlackRock and Fidelity.

The BUIDL fund’s tokenised Treasury products, built natively on Ethereum, showcase the network’s rising importance in traditional finance. Institutional RWA assets have surged nearly 2,000% since January 2024, strengthening Ethereum’s long-term fundamentals even as short-term volatility persists.

Related Reading: European Banking Regulator Says EU crypto Framework Addresses ECB’s Stablecoin Concerns

Technically, Ethereum remains in a descending channel from its failed August rally toward $5,000. Analysts note that a decisive breakout above $3,700 could flip market structure bullish and reopen paths toward $4,700, especially if macro stability continues after the shutdown settlement.

Cover image from ChatGPT, ETHUSD chart from Tradingview