Ethereum Foundation Confirms Dates for Merge Upgrade

approaching the merge of ETH

The Merge upgrade is coming, perhaps sooner than expected. The Ethereum Foundation has set a date for the transition to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus, according to a blog post on Wednesday. The transition will be carried out in two phases. The mainnet merger will first be activated on the Beacon Chain through the Bellatrix upgrade on September 6, while the PoW chain will migrate to PoS after reaching a certain total difficulty value, which is expected to be between September 10 and 20. between.

btc utxo value spent

Cryptocurrency markets continued to trade sideways on Wednesday as investors eagerly awaited clarity from the Federal Reserve’s rhetoric on inflation. As the monthly delivery date approaches, stability is again a central theme in the derivatives market. At the time of writing, BTC is up slightly over the past 24 hours and is now just below the $21,500 resistance and the 100 hourly moving average. Looking up, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap is facing immediate resistance in the $21,600-$21,800 range. A key bearish trend line is forming on the hourly chart of BTC, with an upper limit near $22,400, and if it successfully breaks this trend line, BTC may accelerate its rise. On-chain metrics show that the supply of long-term holders remains near historical cycle highs, suggesting that holders’ profitability remains under significant pressure. At the same time, the median on-chain transfer volume showed a structural downward trend, indicating weaker activity by individual traders on the blockchain.

Compared to BTC, ETH saw a stronger rally, with prices up 2.3% over the same period. In derivatives markets, the basis for ETH futures expiring in December 2022 has fallen to new lows, a rare occurrence even considering the pair surfing before The Merge’s upgrade. In the options market, with options with a notional value of $2 billion due to expire on August 26, the current biggest pain point is near $1,600. Most major non-mainstream coins are basically on the rise, with ETC and ATOM leading the field with a 7% gain over the same period.