Table of contents
The euphoria surrounding the Ethereum Merge (1) and its bullish price action has caused many to hold up hope across the market, leaving investors to wonder what the next trendy move in the market could be like. Since the event was announced and the merge took place, the price of Bitcoin (BTC) (2) has fallen below $20,000, and that of Ether has fallen below $1,500.
If the fundamentals are sound, traders will rotate their funds when new leaders appear as new narratives and market trends develop. The successful transition of the Ethereum network to a proof-of-stake (PoS) (3) architecture resulted in miners losing money while still potentially holding onto their GPU and ASIC mining equipment.
Since they have not yet chosen a chain, it is also possible that miners will decide to mine on a different chain rather than sell their equipment. Because each network's hard rate has reached a new all-time high, Ethereum Classic (4) and Ergo (5) are expected to be the frontrunners going into the Merge.
Every altcoin's price increased during the past month, with Fluz rising 156%, Ergo adding 132%, Ravencoin RVN rising 169%, and Ethereum Classic ETC rising 135% over the previous 90 days. On September 15, the hash rate and price both fell significantly, although Flux and RVN now seem to be on the upswing.
It will be interesting to see which network miners choose as their potential new home over the weeks and months and how this affects the coin's price. Since hitting a low of $5.50 on June 18, ATOM's price has increased 137.5% and is currently trading above $16. The Cosmos ecosystem has continued to grow, which seems to be luring purchasers to the cryptocurrency.
The launch of Cosmos Hub 2.0, the impending implementation of liquid staking, in which ATOM will be used as collateral for stablecoin mining, and the eventual revival of decentralized finance, in general, are all seen by many investors as positive long-term drivers for the price of ATOM (6). While ETH's present price movement from ETH for ETH investors is unlikely to catch up in the days to come as the major actor is likely to undertake any sort of crazy activity is that of the miner and that one-off event that is going to be short-lived.
While staking further protects the network and offers guaranteed returns on deposited assets, Ether may eventually experience a supply shock and turn deflationary. Finding a safe and reliable yield may be more desirable in a market locked in a downward trend.
In essence, it will take time for the excitement surrounding the merger to subside and for investors to begin profiting from the PoS Ethereum network. Since March 29, Bitcoin's price has been range-bound between $17,600 and $24,000, barely moving from its previous high of $69,400 in November 2021. These rallies have come from range highs previously capped by the 200-day moving average and an overhead resistance trendline.
The host consumer price index print from September 12 may lead to more aggressive rate hikes from the United States Federal Reserve (7) and stock prices, which could have an even sharper spillover effect on crypto prices. Despite continued consolidation within the current range, potentially good for altcoins, macro tensions may continue to weigh on the crypto and equity markets.
Recurrent rejections at the long-term declining trendline are possible, as are further retests of the $19,000 support, which could lead to a breakdown below the yearly swing low. This is because investors are still highly risk-averse when it comes to the majority of cryptocurrencies.
