Ethereum merger different from other historical crypto events
The leading US company Citibank noted on Monday that the upcoming Ethereum merger could be a first of its kind. Given the current regulatory pressure on crypto transactions globally, the rollout of Ethereum Merge would be a first in the industry’s history. Describing the increased pressure on crypto companies as “tighter economic conditions,” the bank said the event has important differences. These differences, compared to other historical crypto events, should serve as a warning, the bank indicated.
How Ethereum Merge is different from other crypto upgrades
According to a CoinDesk report, Citibank said it is not easy to predict how much of an effect the merger had on the current ETH price level. This is despite Ethereum’s positive momentum when it had upgrades earlier. “There are important differences between previous upgrades and now. For the first time in their history, digital assets are facing tightening economic conditions.” Meanwhile, the ETH price has risen significantly in recent months, while Bitcoin has underperformed in relative comparison.
“Ether has gained 43% since the ‘post-Luna crisis’ in mid-June, while its main competitors have lagged behind, with BTC falling 1.4% over the same period,” the report said.
This is evident from the drop in Bitcoin’s share of the cryptocurrency market after valuation. In contrast to a peak of 71.89% in early 2021, BTC now has a share of only 38.88%. Between the same time period, Ethereum almost doubled its share of market capitalization from 10.66% to 19.48%. At the time of writing, the ETH price stands at $1,574, up 1.52% in the last 24 hours, according to price tracking platform CoinMarketCap. Last month, the cryptocurrency briefly reached a high of just over $2,000.
Biggest pivots in crypto history?
The network’s conversion to a proof of stake mechanism could prove to be one of the biggest pivots in cryptocurrency history. “The most comparable event was the launch of the Beacon Chain in 2020, a defining moment for the transition to proof of stake, where ETH had big gains.” However, it is difficult to predict yet whether the pivot could have an immediate impact on crypto prices in the short term. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin predicted that it could take around 8 months for Merge to price in.
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