Finally, the long-awaited and highly-anticipated Ethereum Merge is now live.
This Merge saw the second-largest Blockchain by market cap switching from a proof-of-work to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism.
Merge marks the end of energy extensive proof-of-work mining infrastructure and ushers the new beginning of Ethereum in the Crypto space
Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin claims this is "a big moment for the Ethereum ecosystem":
Ethereum is now more environmentally friendly, with the Blockchain consuming 99.95% less energy than the previous model.
Interestingly, the new ETH blockchain will work very similar to a traditional financial asset like a bond or a certificate of deposit (CD)that pays users interest.
Users just have to stake their coins in return for rewards, pushing the network into a far more energy-efficient model for processing and verifying transactions.
The ETH merge is considered the most bullish event. However, some experts believe the Merge may be a "Buy The Rumor, Sell The News" event.
According to Lark Davis, a major crypto influencer and trader, ETH Merge is a bullish event as it intends to reduce energy consumption and set in a deflationary nature. However, per Davis, these accomplishments will take time to be effective. In addition, the Merge fails to address major issues like long waiting times and high gas fees.
Moreover, if an Ethereum hardfork is created, it can have a catastrophic effect on the entire ecosystem.
Initially, ETH enjoyed a massive price rally following Merge's final launch date. However, the price started to tumble after the CPI data was released. ETH declined by almost 7% value and entered the $1600 level.
In the last 24 hours, Ethereum has been trending upwards with a mere surge of 1% and pushed above $1,603.
The crypto market is again expected to be extremely volatile as the Fed meeting is scheduled on September 20 and 21.
To add, the odds of a 100 BPS interest rate hike have hit 48%, according to several analysts. Therefore, crypto pundits expect the markets to remain on the back foot this month.
Due to rising inflation rates and economic transgression, ETH might not rally, despite the successful Merge.