The hotly anticipated “Ethereum Merge” finally happened, and it was a smooth, almost shocking, success. Proof of work vacated the Ethereum protocol in favor of the energy efficient, possibly world-saving alternative of proof of stake.
However, the most current five-day price action for ETH (Ether) shows a sharp decline of approximately -21%. The same chart shows a -9% drop for BTC (Bitcoin). So how can we call the Ethereum Merge a success?
Given the current bear markets and the globally declining macroeconomic environment, speculative assets such as cryptocurrencies slid as investors looked to preserve capital. Called the “crypto winter,” this harsh environment for growth-style investing particularly hurts new asset classes which have not been tested by the global financial crisis, for example.
Yet in the run-up to the Ethereum Merge, ETH’s price surged from roughly 1,430 USD at the end of August to almost 1,800 by September 10. Meaning, enthusiasts, investors, and other ETH stakeholders traded the sentiment building around Ethereum. This is normal, but the Merge’s ethos remains one of safety, security, democracy, and environmental protection–not short-term profit taking.
This article delves into the fate of the ETH’s historical miners, the great appeal Ethereum now has to mainstream investors, and the further upgrades slated for the future.
Read more here.
