Can Fusaka Upgrade Push Ethereum Toward $3,800? Experts Weigh In

Ethereum’s long-awaited Fusaka upgrade went live on Dec. 3. It was one of the most anticipated events of the year for both the Ethereum ecosystem and the broader crypto market. For some, it also became a rare point of optimism during a correction that has been unfolding since October.

The market reaction was immediate. Ethereum climbed from $2,700 on Dec. 1 to about $3,200 after the upgrade. This move helped ETH reclaim the $3,000 level, which many traders view as a psychological and technical milestone. The question now is how sustainable this bounce is. Was this a classic case of “buy the rumor, sell the news,” or does Fusaka carry real bullish weight?

Eneko Knorr, CEO and founder of Stabolut, explained to Cryptonews that Fusaka could be one of the catalysts that flips the narrative for Ethereum:

The primary driver is the highly anticipated Fusaka upgrade in December. If this upgrade is executed smoothly, delivering on its promise of dramatic scalability improvements and efficiency, it will unleash a torrent of institutional demand and utility.

He also noted that if anything goes wrong, the downside could materialize quickly. So far, there have been no negative developments, but it is still too early to judge the full impact of the upgrade.

Is Fusaka Really That Important for Ethereum?

One of the core goals of the hard fork is to reduce fees for Layer-2 networks. This will happen through PeerDAS, a new selective data availability system. It allows nodes to store only small fragments of L2 data (blobs) while still verifying network integrity. This reduces load on nodes, lowers the cost of running infrastructure, and makes data publication for L2s cheaper. In turn, users should see lower transaction fees over time.

Vitalik Buterin called Fusaka “significant because it literally is sharding.” At the same time, he said that the upgrade does not solve everything. L2 scaling is already becoming more efficient, but for L1 transactions to benefit similarly, Ethereum still needs “mature ZK-EVMs.”

High L2 fees are a long-standing problem. Fusaka is not the first attempt to address them, and early results have been mixed. Max Lomu, a contributor to Arbitrum DAO, pointed out that immediately after Fusaka went live, gas temporarily doubled:

I’ll wait a bit for the waters to calm down and try again.

Will Ethereum Price Continue to Rise from Here?

Market conditions remain challenging. Fusaka gave traders a reason to be optimistic, and the price reaction shows that buyers were ready to step in. Bitcoin also moved higher on expectations of softer monetary policy, which added momentum.

Still, the broader crypto market faces the possibility of retesting new lows. Ethereum is not immune to that pressure. The move back above $3,000 is encouraging, but it does not guarantee a sustained uptrend. The true impact of Fusaka will only become clear over time. It will likely take at least a month to evaluate whether gas fees actually fell and whether L2 ecosystems are benefiting as intended.

For now, the key question is whether ETH can defend $3,000. Bitcoin’s ability to hold $90,000 will also play a role, since BTC is currently steering overall market direction.

Cais Manai, Co-Founder and Head of Product at TEN Protocol, told Cryptonews that Ethereum can maintain its support as long as macro conditions improve. He noted that ETH stands a better chance if the Federal Reserve signals a softer stance heading into Q1, liquidity expectations pick up, and ETF inflows stabilize. If those conditions align, ETH could quickly rebuild upward pressure:

Under that scenario, ETH can build pressure into the $3,300–$3,800 range quickly because the structural flows are still intact, long-term holders haven’t moved, staking activity remains healthy, and institutions continue to add exposure quietly.

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