The revamp is anticipated to go live on Thursday at
approximately 1200 GMT, according to market players. Technically, the upgrade
will occur when the 12,965,000th block on the blockchain has been verified.
Ether, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency, fell 0.5%
on Thursday, but has risen about 18% this week and is at its highest level
since early June, in the aftermath of May's crypto market plunge.
The ethereum network underpins a range of projects in the
crypto world including non fungible tokens (NFTs) - a crypto asset,
representing an intangible digital item such as an image, video, or in-game
item - as well many decentralised finance (DeFi) applications.
The upgrade, known as the Ethereum Improvement Proposal
(EIP) 1559, will alter the way transactions are processed and provide clearer
pricing for them.
It will also reduce the supply of the ether token and is
likely to sharply boost its price.
Several large exchanges including Binance and OKEx have said
they will suspend deposits and withdrawals of ether and ether-based assets
around the time of the adjustment.
They said this was necessary to reduce the trading risks
brought about by price volatility and to maintain the safety of user funds.