Blockchain News

Ethereum’s Rally - Chung's Weekly Digest (8/4)

Ethereum made substantial gains over the past weeks as optimism began to trickle into the crypto market after Tim Beiko’s announcement of The Merge.

Ethereum’s Major Milestone

Ethereum ($ETH) briefly dipped below $900 on June 18 but has since staged a remarkable rally to its current price of $1,600 after Tim Beiko, one of the network’s leading developers, proposed Sept. 19 as the date for “The Merge.” 

Nathaniel Whittemore of the Coindesk podcast “The Breakdown” believes The Merge fills a narrative void and also signals the return of optimism to the crypto market. Source.

The Merge is Ethereum’s transition from Proof of Work (PoW) to Proof of Stake (PoS) and is an important milestone for the leading smart contract platform. Ethereum is the second-highest capped crypto asset after Bitcoin ($BTC), and this upgrade will create deflationary pressure to reward its holders by encouraging staking for reward. 

Because of its greater investment value, $ETH will be traded less. It is anticipated that after the upgrade, the network will be more energy-efficient and “environmentally friendly,” which is a response to one of the most stinging criticisms of the PoW consensus mechanism.

The Merge is a major milestone to enable Ethereum to overcome weaknesses such as inability to scale, expensive gas fees and low volume of transaction. Source

However, enthusiasm for The Merge is not universal. $ETH has been in oversold territory for a prolonged period. The recent upward price action is a result of the confluence of a few factors. The news on the Merge is one of those. The overall crypto market has also improved and real-world inflation is expected to fall as gas prices are trending lower. 

The result in interest rate hikes will also slow the U.S. economy which will effectively bring down inflation. However, these figures do not paint the entire picture of the health of the equities market. The Ukraine-Russia crisis will continue to affect the global market through the disruption of global supply chains, food production and distribution, and crude oil.

Weekly Recap

Market Sentiment

Source

The market sentiment has improved after $BTC appears to be consolidating above $22,000. The crypto market is also moving in tandem with the Nasdaq. 

Nasdaq has also staged a recovery after a slump in June. Source

Signs of accumulation are starting to appear as investors are slowly buying the dip. Addresses with more than 1 $BTC are increasing after sweeping to lows in mid-June.

Source

 Traditional institutions are acknowledging their consumers’ need for Bitcoin exposure. Blackrock recently partnered with Coinbase to provide direct access to crypto trading. The next market cycle will be a continuation of institutional adoption of crypto assets and blockchain technology. 


Coins to Watch

Ethereum ($ETH) - The Merge will create the much needed optimism that will push $ETH past the $2,000 psychological resistance. However this can be a risky trade for a few reasons:

  • It can be a scenario of buy the rumor and sell the news. Just before the Merge takes place, short-term traders will dump and lock in their gains. 
  • The Merge might get delayed. Upgrades on the Ethereum network are complicated and in the past, major upgrades have been delayed. 
  • $ETH is still a good risk-reward asset to be invested in because of the promise it holds. 

Optimism ($OP) - If Ethereum successfully implemented the upgrade, all layer-2 solutions on the Ethereum network will directly benefit from it. 

  • A rally in the price of $ETH will also move $OP.
  • $OP is a newly launched token and there is a lot of upside to it. 
  • $OP did not fully capitalize on the euphoria when it was launched. There will be a second chance for this token to ride the next rally.

BNB ($BNB) - This asset is one of the most fundamentally sound coins because it is backed by the biggest crypto exchange platform in the world. 

  • $BNB has a suite of utilities, and a considerable amount of resources have been dedicated to build and improve BNB Chain.
Source
  • The $BNB rally is sustainable because the asset is backed by real-world utilities.

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