According to technical analysis, the fall in the value of cryptocurrencies from June has already been overcome. One of the main findings is that the cryptocurrency Ether or Ethereum (ETH) has increased by more than 100% of its original exchange value against the US dollar (USD) to the present. This means that Ethereum significantly outpaced its exchange value growth rate compared to Bitcoin (BTC) which is the most widespread cryptocurrency with the highest market capitalization.
On 19 June 2022 the virtual currency Bitcoin hit bottom trading at US$ 17,601 per BTC, and according to CoinDesk data it is up around 31% since. However the Ethereum also hit bottom, also on 19 June, trading at US$ 880.93 per ETH, but since then it has surged 106% on the digital currency market. According to analysts the huge difference in the performance of the two cryptocurrencies is caused by one main factor: a major upgrade to the Ethereum blockchain called the “merger”. They also state that any further delay in Ethereum’s upgrade could derail the massive rally. Since finding a bottom in mid-June, Ethereum has massively outperformed Bitcoin as cryptocurrency investors anticipate a major upgrade to the Ethereum blockchain.
On 19 August 2022, at 7:28 am CET, Ethereum traded on the digital currency market Coin Metrics (CM) at US$ 1,820.26 per ETH with ETH down -2.83% against the USD so far. According to cryptocurrency market analysts this momentary decline is mainly caused by profit withdrawals, which investors achieved thanks to the massive growth rate of this virtual currency in the last two months. At the time mentioned, the rival cryptocurrency Bitcoin was trading at US$ 22,804.51 per BTC, also with a daily BTC decrease of -2.49% against USD.
Ethereum’s upgrade, called the “merger”, should take place – after numerous delays – on 15 September 2022 and this Blockchain will change from a so-called proof-of-work system to a model called proof-of-stake. Based on initial findings from the test version of this new system, ETH supporters claim it will make the Ethereum network faster and more energy efficient. The second largest cryptocurrency, ETH, right after BTC in terms of market value, has just undergone its last successful general overhaul, a years-awaited upgrade that is considered one of the most important events in the history of cryptocurrencies. Since its creation almost ten years ago, Ethereum has been mined through the so-called proof-of-work model, which involves complex mathematical equations that are solved by a huge number of PC machines with high energy demands. And that’s why, rather than relying on energy-intensive mining, the new method requires users to leverage their existing cache of ETH as a means to verify transactions and mint tokens. This method uses much less energy and is expected to translate into faster transactions.
