Asset management company VanEck’s September report on the cryptocurrency market highlights the upcoming Fusaka update, set to launch on the Ethereum mainnet in December. This update promises to reduce validators’ data load and facilitate the scaling of Layer-2, cutting costs and increasing institutional appeal. The report warns that as institutional players such as ETFs and crypto treasury companies accumulate and stake ETH, non-staking investors might miss out on returns. The performance table for September notes a positive trajectory for Bitcoin but a limited negative performance for Ethereum.
Focus on the Fusaka Update for Ethereum
The Fusaka update’s main innovation, Peer Data Availability Sampling (PeerDAS), will allow validators to verify Layer-2 blob data without fully downloading it, reducing bandwidth and storage pressure. The developer roadmap indicates that the capacity increases will progress gradually with blob parameter (BPO) forks, suggesting a high likelihood of the update’s availability on the mainnet in December. With this update, data space for Layer-2 will increase, reducing costs for end-user transactions.
According to VanEck, while this capacity increase may not revive Layer-2 fee burns to previous levels, it might strengthen Ethereum’s position as a monetary asset central to the growing scalability ecosystem. The successful completion of test network stages, including Holesky, reduces the remaining technical risks for transitioning to the mainnet, indicating the Fusaka update might be released as planned.
VanEck also emphasized in their September report the strengthening institutional demand for crypto assets through crypto treasury companies and ETP/ETF channels. Increasing ETH positions are leaning towards long-term custody and staking. This dynamic puts non-staking investors at risk of falling behind in returns compared to the network’s internal issuance/reward flows. The company highlighted that the sustainability of crypto treasury companies relying on volatility-based financial models is sensitive to market fluctuations.
Major Cryptocurrencies in September: Mixed Outcomes
Furthermore, VanEck’s report noted a decline in 23 out of 35 major cryptocurrencies observed in September. Bitcoin ended the month positively, while Ethereum closed in the negative. Noteworthy altcoin performers for September included Mantel (MNT) with a 53% increase, Avalanche (AVAX) with a 24% rise, and BNB with a 16% uptick. Conversely, the month’s losers were Polygon (POL) with a 19% drop, Arbitrum (ARB) declining by 17%, and Toncoin (TON) falling by 14%.