Ethereum Falls After ‘Merge’, Bitcoin, Dogecoin Fall: Trader Sees 2nd Largest Crypto Slip To $800 If This Happens – Bitcoin (BTC/USD), Ethereum (ETH/USD), Dogecoin (DOGE/USD)
Major coins fell sharply Thursday night as the global cryptocurrency market capitalization lost 4% to $960.8 billion at 8:15 a.m. EDT.
| Coin | 24 hours a day | 7 days | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin BTC/USD | -2.8% | 1.8% | $19,677.82 |
| Ethereum ETH/USD | -10.35% | -10.1% | $1,469.05 |
| Dogecoin DOGE/USD | -3.9% | -3.6% | $0.06 |
| Cryptocurrency | 24-hour % change (+/-) | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Cosmos (ATOM) | +7.4% | $14.99 |
| Golem (GLM) | +7% | $0.33 |
| Quant (QNT) | +4.3% | $103.30 |
See also: Best USDC interest rates
Why it matters: Ethereum rallied after completing its transition to a proof-of-stake network in an event dubbed “The Merge.” Other large coins were also in red.
Cryptocurrencies followed weaker stocks Thursday, as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished down 1.1% and 1.4%, respectively. At the time of writing, US stock futures were in the red.
“Ethereum is down significantly and volatility should remain elevated into the weekend,” said OANDA senior market analyst Edward Moyain a note seen by Benzinga.
Ethereum “remains vulnerable in the near-term to further momentum selling, especially as traders await next week’s FOMC decision. Significant weakness in tech stocks is also weighing on crypto in general as Bitcoin has fallen below the $20,000 level.”
Michael van de Poppe said it to the next meeting in the United States Federal Reserve, “markets will be down, pricing in the worst” and a rate hike of 100 basis points.
Seems clear to me; waiting until the next FED meeting and probably until then the markets will be down pricing the worst and 100 bps.
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) 15 September 2022
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will meet again on 20-21. September.
The September 30 options expiration is “crucial” for ETH futures traders with nearly $8 billion worth of options for that expiration, 75% of which are call options, according to Kaiko Research.
Ethereum options volume for September 30 — courtesy of Kaiko Research
“For the September 30 expiration, the $5,000 strike price has the most volume of all expirations, the vast majority of which are calls. ETH needs to more than triple to reach this strike, and it looks like these options will expire worthless, says the market intelligence provider.
Willy Woo said a “significant” amount of ETH flowed into exchanges leading up to the merger.
The analyst tweeted: “Was it to let exchanges deal with technical issues? Or to dump?”
A significant amount of ETH moved to exchanges leading to the merger.
Was it to let exchanges deal with any technical issues? Or to dump? pic.twitter.com/GNGgjvxCrf
— Willy Woo (@woonomic) 15 September 2022
Justin Bennett shared an ETH chart and said the second largest crypto is “testing its throat.” The trader said on Twitter, “Target $800 if this breaks.”
$ETH tests the neckline.
The goal is $800 if this breaks.#Ethereum pic.twitter.com/jJbOa1sQtc
— Justin Bennett (@JustinBennettFX) 15 September 2022
The neckline refers to support or resistance on the head and shoulders pattern, which is used to identify areas where to place orders.
Read next: Ethereum (ETH) Sees $174M Liquidations After Merger As Price Drops
