Crypto Industry Outlook:

The launch of the Ethereum Medalla test network, scheduled for 1pm, did not go as smoothly as expected. While the network was successfully launched and offered a sufficient number of blocks at its supposed time of construction, the participation rate was only 57% - well below the expected 80%.

This means that only 57% of the rate is implemented for network validation. This is a serious problem because block finality cannot be achieved until the network starts cutting off validators that are offline. Finality means that the block history is irreversible, which is equivalent to the block confirmation threshold in Ethereum 1.0. According to the developers, this could be because many validators signed up by paying 32 ETH without running the validation software. However, customer issues with Nimbus and Lodestar could account for around 10% of that participation gap, said Danny Ryan of the Ethereum Foundation.

The network is expected to fix the problem on its own as inactive validators are kicked out, however it may take at least several hours to restore the finality. Meanwhile, developers investigate customer issues.

Technical Market Outlook:

The ETH/USD pair has broken out from the narrow range located between the levels of $379.59 - $392.79 and made a new local high at the level of $407.03. For now the price is trading close to the recent ATH, around the level of $400 again and the up trend is still being continued. The next target for bulls is seen at the level of $414 and $425.25. The key short-term support is seen at the level of $300. The momentum is still strong and positive, which supports the short-term bullish outlook.

Weekly Pivot Points:

WR3 - $532.98

WR2 - $470.84

WR1 - $423.16

Weekly Pivot - $365.99

WS1 - $312.04

WS2 - $255.55

WS3 - $208.47

Trading Recommendations:

Due to the violation of the level of $351, Ethereum is now in the up trend on the long-term time frame. The next target for bulls is seen at the level of $500. The key long-term technical support is located at the level of $86.10, but the zone around $300 - $308 is an important technical support as well.