A large number of competitors were encouraged to enter the market and weigh in on the Ethereum blockchain, due to its high popularity and high transaction fees. Layer-1 blockchain alternatives, such as Solana, Cardano and Binance Smart Chain, have lower costs, faster speeds, and higher throughputs than Ethereum. The growing number of competitors and the lack of a confirmed date for the upcoming Ethereum 2.0 launch weighed on the ETH/USD prices over the weekend. According to an analyst at Coinbase Institutional, the only real ETH killer might end up being Ethereum 2.0. He stated that switching from a proof-of-work mechanism to a proof-of-stake mechanism will help ETH maintain its position and reduce the threats posed by its competitors. These comments by a Coinbase analyst pushed the ETH/USD prices higher over the weekend.

On Saturday, Ethereum dropped to its lowest price in six months. However, it was still nearly twice as valuable as it was a year ago. On Sunday, the prices moved in the opposite direction, recovering some of the previous session’s losses, amid the price correction. There was no such significant factor to support the Ethereum prices, as investors began booking profits at its 6-month low.

Furthermore, the declining price of the US dollar also added further upward momentum to the ETH/USD prices, as the two have a negative correlation. US dollar investors were also cautious ahead of the FOMC policy meeting, to be held next week on Wednesday and Thursday. The central bank of the United States is expected to announce some sort of timeline for the upcoming rate hike this year. Ahead of that, the market remained subdued, and the dollar dropped.