The teams from Fetch.ai, Ocean Protocol, and Singularitynet (SNET), three top projects in artificial intelligence (AI) on the blockchain, have announced their intention to amalgamate their tokens into a unified cryptocurrency named “artificial superintelligence (ASI).” 3 Top AI Tokens to Combine Into a Single Coin Called ‘ASI’ In a communication dispatched to Bitcoin.com News, the […]
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South African Crypto Exchanges Revix and Bitfund Merge With Austrian Digital Asset Platform
Two South African crypto platforms and an Austria-based digital asset platform have joined forces to launch a new alternative investment platform called Altify. The goal of the new outfit is to enable South African investors, particularly the younger ones, to harness the power of alternative investments.
Alternative Investment Opportunities a Preserve for the Wealthy
Two South African crypto exchange platforms, Revix and Bitfund, have merged with an Austrian digital asset platform to create a new alternative investment platform called Altify. According to a joint statement, Sean Sanders, the founder of Revix, has been named the CEO of the new entity, which is headquartered in London.
In their Nov. 30 statement, the three companies said that Altify aims to provide alternative investment opportunities, that are usually reserved for large institutions and the ultra-wealthy, to ordinary people. These alternative investment opportunities include private credit (private debt), venture capital, real estate, crypto assets, and collectibles.
Merger Deal Backed by Shareholders
According to Sanders, the new entity not only cements an already established position in the South African market but also enhances its investment reach. The new CEO added:
“Ultimately, our goal is to enable South African investors the opportunity to harness the power of alternative investment, positioning ourselves as the go-to alternative investment platform across South Africa and the bigger EMEA region.”
Sanders also stated that the other goal of the new entity is to change the long-held perception that only individuals in their 60s ought to invest in alternative assets.
Meanwhile, the statement revealed that the merger transaction had the support of the respective companies’ shareholders. These include Sabvest, CVVC, Founders Factory, Emurgo, High-Tech Gründerfonds, and Calm/Storm Ventures. The merger also won the backing of angel investors Frank Westermann and Johann “Hansi” Hansmann.
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B2BinPay v18 Presents Account Merge – A New Way To Manage Crypto
PRESS RELEASE. Not too long after the significant v17 release, B2BinPay is advancing significantly to establish new benchmarks in quality. B2BinPay continues its commitment to excellence by introducing a new chapter for the platform with the release of the v18 edition.
This edition makes managing crypto transactions easier by integrating the Enterprise and Merchant models into a single account system. The v18 edition also includes a redesigned front end and elevated regulatory compliance to guarantee safety and improve user experience.
Let’s investigate these intriguing additions and see how they fit into the current digital ecosystem of B2BinPay.
How Account Unification Simplifies Everything
With the release of the v18 version, the most notable enhancement for B2BinPay users is account unification, also known as Merge, which provides an entirely new method of using the platform’s primary functionalities.
This update simplifies the platform by merging the two primary B2BinPay account types—Enterprise and Merchant—into a single, easy-to-use interface. Customers may now handle transactions directly within a single digital system and change features to suit their needs. This invention streamlines every process step while supplying clients with more options, accessibility and control over their on-platform activities. The account merge function provides several fresh possibilities for customers, further enriching the offerings of B2BinPay.
Effortless Administration And Account Creation
B2BinPay has combined the Merchant and Enterprise user accounts to form a comprehensive service centre. Users may now access the capabilities of both service kinds with only one account. This also simplifies the registration process, allowing customers to use B2BinPay’s wide range of services without understanding the intricate details of each type. Businesses may start using B2BinPay services immediately and focus on what matters: their company’s growth instead of wasting time with needless red tape and bureaucracy.
Near-Instant Onboarding
With the v18 update, onboarding has been transformed into a straightforward, one-time procedure. No hidden fees or additional charges will be required. Customers don’t have to worry about extra costs or laborious administrative processes when they want to switch payment providers to accommodate their growing company needs after onboarding. It’s a simple procedure that respects the client’s time and encourages a proactive approach to using the B2BinPay platform.
A brand-New Front-End With Quality-Of-Life Features
In addition to having a smooth user interface, B2BinPay v18 offers a fresh aesthetic that goes hand-in-hand with the iconic B2Broker design. B2BinPay’s enhanced system security and speed have enabled clients to access a dependable and robust front-end ecosystem. To provide a seamless and organic transition to this improved platform, B2BinPay has kept the key components that users have grown accustomed to. The following features underwent extensive renovations:
Redesigned Wallets And Payments
The redesigned interfaces and faster procedures make it much easier to utilise B2BinPay’s services without any hassle. Additionally, B2BinPay has enhanced the bank withdrawal, exchange, and payment user interfaces, optimising all financial procedures and saving consumers much time. Almost every action within the platform can be conducted swiftly and in minutes.
Overhauled Account Menus With Additional Security
B2BinPay has enhanced the account administration interface’s security and usability. Managing API access, establishing preferences, and personalising client profiles are all made simple by the new Account Menu. Adding two-factor authentication (2FA) raises the overall security even further. The Payment Page has also been modified to adhere to the new, user-friendly design approach, offering a convenient and secure way to conduct transactions.
Limitless Invoicing Period
With the removal of the seven-day merchant invoice expiry restriction, consumers now have greater freedom and choice in monitoring their invoices. With this update, companies can set the invoicing cycles to perfectly fit their business operations and workflow periods.
Enhanced Customer Support
Quick access to multilingual support within a well-defined schedule has significantly improved the Helpdesk user experience. It’s now easier than ever to stay in the loop regarding your helpdesk tickets with the new sticker alerts for incoming messages.
Rates UX Revisions
The Rates UX now boasts improved favourites and filtering options. Furthermore, the wallets section now offers rates as part of a top-level menu, enhancing user access and control of currency rates.
FATF Travel Rule Compliance
In all critical metrics, B2BinPay is committed to maintaining the highest regulatory compliance standards within the industry. To ensure adherence to Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Travel Rule criteria, B2BinPay has partnered with Notabene, an established provider of travel rule solutions.
The FATF Travel Rule is a regulatory framework that mandates acquiring and exchanging personal information in crypto transactions to prevent money laundering and other illicit actions. Fund transfer originators and recipients must disclose specific personal information about themselves to Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs). This rule is necessary to identify activities that could be tied to illegal funds.
Final Takeaways
Businesses can conduct crypto transactions overseas easily, securely, and efficiently thanks to B2BinPay, the leading cryptocurrency payment platform. The platform’s primary goal is to provide users with convenient, secure and diverse options to transfer cryptocurrencies.
B2BinPay is all about creating a one-stop solution for crypto owners, giving them every bit of utility and functionality they need without hassle. The v18 update was designed to be a significant step toward fulfilling this mission, enhancing the platform’s accessibility and security for its customers.
This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release.
Ethereum Merge Is One: Here Are The Highlights So Far
It has been a year since the Merge took place, and as expected, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, has experienced many changes since then. What are some of them? Let’s take a look.
One Year In: How Has Ethereum Changed?
According to a prominent figure in the Ethereum community, Sassal, 980,000 ETH have been burned since Ethereum transitioned from a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus to proof-of-stake (PoS).
Ahead of the Merge, Ethereum had implemented a significant upgrade known as the London hard fork. This introduced a fee-burning mechanism with transaction base fees being burned immediately after a transaction is processed.
This move was geared towards making Ether deflationary, considering that some tokens are removed permanently from circulation. Ethereum supply is down by 0.25% since the Merge took place.
Furthermore, the Merge resulted in the network being secured by validators who stake their ETH as against Miners, who were the backbone of the network under the PoW consensus. In line with this, over 11.6 million ETH (since the Merge) has been staked to secure the network and also earn passive income in return.
The top stakers include the staking platform Lido DAO which has a market share of 22.64%, according to data from Dune Analytics. Other top stakers include exchanges like Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken.
Meanwhile, the number of validators on the network has significantly increased since the Merge, with 362,000 new validators joining the network.
Down In Valuation But Not Value
Ethereum’s price has increased by close to 11% from a year ago. However, many may consider this insignificant for a token that hit an all-time high of ,891 the previous year. Nevertheless, there are positives to take from the Merge, as Ethereum has undoubtedly become more valuable since it occurred despite the current bear market woes.
A crypto analyst noted that ETH’s annual inflation rate has decreased since the Merge, and trading activity on Ethereum’s layer-2 chains has also increased significantly. That would suggest that more people are being onboarded into the Ethereum ecosystem.
According to him, Ethereum’s fundamentals are also at an all-time high, as there are factors that show that the ecosystem is stable and healthy. One of them happens to be the fact that traditional financial (TradFi) institutions are taking an interest in ETH.
Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest recently filed to offer an Ethereum Spot ETF (a first of its kind). This is alongside other institutions that have filed to offer an Ethereum futures ETF (of which ARK Invest happens to be among them).
Featured image from WAYA Media
Holesky Testnet Takes Flight On Merge Anniversary Amidst Ethereum 30-Day Slump
One year has passed since the Ethereum (ETH) Merge, which marked the integration of Ethereum’s proof-of-stake (PoS) Beacon Chain with the Ethereum Mainnet.
This significant milestone facilitated the transition of the Ethereum blockchain from the legacy proof-of-work (PoW) system to a PoS model, giving rise to Ethereum 2.0.
The completion of the Merge on September 15, 2022, brought about a major shift in Ethereum’s energy consumption, with an expected reduction of 99.95%. Additionally, this transition opened up new possibilities for scaling the Ethereum ecosystem.
The merge involved migrating the entire blockchain to new PoS validator nodes, which require participants to stake or lock up 32 Ether (ETH) to participate in the network.
Importantly, this transition did not impact Ether tokens held by investors, and the operations of Ethereum-based applications remained unchanged. As Ethereum celebrated the first anniversary of The Merge, it introduced its latest testnet called Holesky.
The Future Of Ethereum Development And Testing?
Initially known as Holli, the Holesky testnet is designed to enhance the testing environment on Ethereum. Drawing inspiration from a vibrant neighborhood in Prague, Czech Republic, this new testnet offers various improvements over its predecessor, Goerli.
According to a blog post from the software development firm Tatum, Holesky is set to replace Goerli as the primary testnet for staking, infrastructure, and protocol development. For testing decentralized applications, smart contracts, and other Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-related functions, the Sepolia testnet remains the preferred choice.
Holesky, on the other hand, serves as Ethereum’s merged-from-genesis public testnet, mirroring mainnet functionalities and enabling precise evaluations through thorough staking trials, infrastructure assessments, and direct protocol developer testing. To ensure rigorous testing, Holesky aims to have twice as many active validators as the main Ethereum network.
The network starts with a solid foundation of 1 million validators, encouraging teams to run a substantial number of validators, with each team handling around 100,000 validators. These measures contribute to the comprehensive evaluation of the testnet and intended functionality.
According to Tatum’s blog post, by introducing Holesky and refining inflation mechanisms based on the Sepolia testnet, Ethereum continues to evolve and improve its protocols.
One Year After The Merge
In a recent post on X (Formerly Twitter), the self-proclaimed Ethereum Educator, who goes by the pseudonym “Sassal.eth,” highlighted some notable statistics on the first anniversary of The Merge.
One significant achievement for Ethereum since the Merge is burning 980,000 ETH tokens, resulting in a permanent reduction of Ethereum’s total supply. Burning ETH involves removing tokens from circulation, contributing to potential scarcity and value.
Additionally, the Ethereum 2.0 network has seen a significant 11.6 million ETH being staked, which involves locking up ETH as collateral to participate in the proof-of-stake consensus mechanism.
Moreover, according to Sassal, adding 362,000 new validators has strengthened the Ethereum network. Validators are crucial in proposing and validating new blocks, ensuring the network’s security and overall robustness.
On the other hand, Ethereum’s native token, ETH, has experienced a tumultuous journey in terms of its price performance since the beginning of the year. Despite reaching an annual high of ,144 on April 16, ETH has been impacted by the overall market trend, resulting in significant losses across various time frames.
Currently, ETH is trading at ,619, representing a 1% decline in the past 24 hours. Similarly, over the past seven days, the token has recorded a decrease of 0.9%.
Looking at the fourteen and 30-day time frames, ETH has experienced declines of 1% and 11.3%, respectively, underscoring the prevailing downward trend for the token’s value.
However, it is worth noting that since the occurrence of The Merge, ETH has witnessed a moderate rise of 7.6% year to date, according to Coingecko data.
Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView.com
Ethereum Hard Fork Coin ETHW Down More Than 95% Since The Merge
Nearly a year after Chandler Guo — the instigator of the Ethereum blockchain’s last hard fork — predicted its rise, the native coin of the breakaway Ethereum proof-of-work blockchain has plummeted by more than 95%. Ethereumpow (ETHW) now trades at a price less than 1% of the U.S. dollar value of ether. The team behind the Ethereum proof-of-work network acknowledged in March that the protocol’s prospects may not be as bright as they were in September 2022.
ETHW’s Gradual Decline
Almost a year after it debuted at just over 0, ethereumpow (ETHW), the native coin of the breakaway Ethereum proof-of-work (PoW) blockchain, traded at .32 on Sept. 13, 2023. At this price, the coin is down by more than 95% from its maiden price. In contrast, the main Ethereum blockchain’s native coin ETH, which traded at just under ,560 at the time of The Merge, was pegged at ,600 on the same day.
The decline of the forked coin’s value appears to contradict assertions made by Chandler Guo, the instigator of the Ethereum blockchain’s last hard fork. As reported by Bitcoin.com News in 2022, Guo insisted the price of ETHW was “very cheap” and predicted its eventual rise by 100X. At the time, Guo suggested that it would take 10 years for the price of ETHW to match that of ETH.
However, some twelve months later, ETHW, whose value was equivalent to 6% of that of ETH, is seemingly not on course to match the price of ether. Instead, as shown by the latest data, the forked coin now trades at a value which is less than 1% of ETH’s value.
Similarly, the forked coin’s current traded volumes are also significantly lower than what they were 12 months ago. To illustrate, just after the hard fork, ETHW daily traded volumes were averaging more than 0 million for the remainder of Sept. 2022. However, the data shows that between September 1 and 13, 2023, the forked coin’s traded volumes have remained under million.
Ethereum PoW Team Identifies Problems Besetting the Chain
The daily traded volumes of ETH, on the other hand, have largely ranged between billion and billion since the migration to the proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. In addition, ETH has retained its position as the second-most dominant cryptocurrency.
🟩 Proposal: EthereumPoW One — An All-in-One Ecosystem DAO
Since the inception of EthereumPoW, some excellent NFT projects have emerged in the EthereumPoW ecosystem. Through these projects, we have witnessed the enormous potential of EthereumPoW. Nevertheless, the overall… pic.twitter.com/wWtNmXliNA
— EthereumPoW (ETHW) Official (@EthereumPoW) March 17, 2023
Although some supporters of the Ethereum PoW network have remained upbeat, the team behind the chain acknowledged in March that the protocol’s prospects may not be as bright as they were in September 2022. In a message shared via their official handle on X (formerly Twitter), the team noted the project lacked funding as well as “a unified and effective organization to coordinate limited resources in this ecosystem.”
To overcome these and other challenges, the team proposed the establishment of “EthereumPoW One — A All-in-One Ecosystem DAO [decentralized autonomous organization].” However, as shown by the data, even the team’s March 17 announcement of the proposal has seemingly failed to halt ETHW’s price decline.
What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Indian Analyst: World War III Already Started, BRICS Could Merge With SCO
The president of a New Delhi-based think tank believes that World War III has already begun. He also anticipates the BRICS economic bloc (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) merging with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). “A single merged organization will be much more clearer, stronger and grow into very meaningful pole,” he described.
Indian Analyst on BRICS Merging With SCO, World War III
Robinder Sachdev, president of Imagindia Institute, a New Delhi-based think tank and research center, has shared his predictions on World War III and the possible merger of the BRICS economic bloc and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The BRICS nations are Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The SCO members comprise China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
“Both BRICS and SCO are initially founded by China and Russia. Many big picture goals of both organizations are same. It is necessary for both organizations to have very different roadmap in future. Otherwise, I have said many times that it is now time to consider merging of the SCO and BRICS into a single organization,” the Indian analyst told Russian news outlet Tass on Friday. He added:
A single merged organization will be much more clearer, stronger and grow into very meaningful pole … Let’s see in next 5 years.
Discussing the BRICS economic bloc’s current position globally, Sachdev emphasized: “BRICS will have to create its own space and find a way to be as effective or more effective than other international organizations.”
He detailed: “If the BRICS countries work together strongly on some common agenda then BRICS can have an important role. If BRICS becomes a strong organization, then it can play very important role in building the new world matrix of the 21st century.”
The think tank president also believes that World War III has already begun, stating:
In my view, we are already in the middle of World War III or the First World War of the 21st century.
“In addition to the war, there are climate and economic challenges, for both the global north and south countries. Role of strong and neutral international institutions is extremely needed now to shape the new world matrix. The UN is rudderless. Others, some are inactive, and some have become one-sided in this war,” he further shared.
Do you agree with the assessment provided by the Indian analyst regarding the future of the BRICS economic bloc and the assertion that World War III has commenced? Let us know in the comments section below.
Ethereum Exchange Supply Has Fallen 37% Post Merge: Santiment
On-chain data from Santiment shows the Ethereum supply on exchanges has dropped by 37% since the Merge in September last year.
Ethereum Supply On Exchanges Has Continued To Decline Recently
As per the on-chain analytics firm Santiment, ETH continuing to leave exchanges can be good news for the cryptocurrency. The “supply on exchanges” is an indicator that measures the total amount of Ethereum that’s currently sitting in the wallets of all centralized exchanges.
When this metric’s value increases, investors transfer a net number of coins to exchanges. Since one of the main reasons holders may deposit their coins to exchanges is for selling purposes, this trend can have bearish implications for the asset’s price.
On the other hand, the indicator observing a decline suggests that a net amount of supply is leaving these platforms currently. As the exchange supply can be considered a sort of available “selling supply” for ETH, its value decreasing can naturally be bullish for the coin.
Now, here is a chart that shows the trend in the Ethereum supply on exchanges over the last few months:
As shown in the above graph, the Ethereum supply on exchanges measured around 19.12 million ETH back on the 14th of September 2022, the date of the much-hyped Merge, which successfully transitioned the network consensus mechanism to a proof-of-stake (PoS) one.
Since then, the indicator has observed a significant decline, leading to the number of exchanges still left today being just 13.36 million ETH. Regarding capital loss, today’s exchange supply is worth about 37% less than it was during the Merge.
And in terms of the pure difference in the total number of coins, these platforms today hold about 30% less Ethereum supply than on the date of the PoS upgrade. Santiment thinks this is good news for the Ethereum market, as the available selling supply has continuously shrunk in recent months.
The chart shows that the most drastic drawdown in the indicator came following the collapse of the crypto exchange FTX. The reason behind that is a known platform like FTX going belly up renewed fear around centralized exchanges among investors, pushing them to take their coins to offsite wallets.
The price of Ethereum has registered a decline in the past week. Still, as is visible in the graph, the Ethereum supply on exchanges has seen a noticeably sharper decline following this price dip, which may be a sign that investors are accumulating more while ETH is at a “discount.”
ETH Price
At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading around ,500, down 8% in the last week.
Ethereum Finishes 2022 With ATH Correlation To Bitcoin, Despite The Merge
Data shows Ethereum’s year of high correlation with Bitcoin is coming to an end with the metric hitting ATH values.
Ethereum Ends 2022 With All-Time High Correlation To Bitcoin
According to the year-end report from Arcane Research, the global markets have all fallen strongly correlated this year. The “30-day correlations” is an indicator that measures how in-tune Bitcoin has been with another asset in terms of price movement over a 30-day period.
When the value of this metric is greater than zero, it means there has been a positive correlation between BTC and the other asset in the past month. On the other hand, negative values imply that the price of the crypto has been reacting to changes in the value of the other asset by moving in the opposite direction.
Also, the higher the metric value (in either direction), the more the degree of the correlation. Naturally, the metric has a value equal to zero suggesting the two prices aren’t tied to each other at the moment.
Now, here is a chart that shows the trend in Bitcoin’s 30-day correlations with Ethereum, S&P 500, and Nasdaq over the past year:
As the above graph displays, Bitcoin positively correlated with these three assets during 2022. BTC’s correlation has been around or above 0.5 for most of the year for the US equities, suggesting it has been decently tied with them.
The correlation with Ethereum, however, has been at values of around 0.9 or more, implying Bitcoin has been extremely correlated with it. Even now, as the year’s end, the correlation between these cryptos stands at 0.97, around ATH levels.
Back in September of this year, ETH successfully finished its much-anticipated transition to a Proof-of-Stake consensus system, an event known as the Merge. Since the Merge brought some developments unique to Ethereum, the correlation with BTC dropped, as is apparent in the chart.
However, it wasn’t long before the two started moving on the same wavelength again, so even the Merge wasn’t enough to cause sufficient impact to separate the coins.
Also, since Bitcoin is highly correlated with stocks, so is Ethereum. Though, Arcane Research expects that this correlation between the cryptos and the US equities will soften in the next year due to trading volumes in the crypto market declining substantially.
ETH Price
At the time of writing, Ethereum’s price floats around ,200, down 2% in the last week.
The Ethereum Merge: What Is Trading Headed Towards?
If Bitcoin is the digital gold of the crypto sphere, then Ethereum is the digital silver. The blockchain powerhouse headed by Vitalik Buterin has taken the world by storm since its foundation in 2015, and its price journey has outperformed BTC on several occasions.
From its starting value of just under , the price of Ethereum surged to more than ,800 last year. This was some of the biggest Ethereum news, but 2022 has marked a major landmark in this cryptocurrency’s journey: The merge!
The merge is seriously exciting, from overhauling price predictions and revolutionising trading to taking Ethereum into the future. Today, we’ll look at how it will change things and cover everything you need to know. But first, what exactly is The Merge?
What Is The Ethereum Merge?
The Ethereum Merge has been a long-awaited upgrade of the digital framework of the world’s second-biggest cryptocurrency that an inefficient energy-sapping system has long been plagued by.
By swapping proof-of-work (PoW) for proof-of-stake (PoS), a seriously difficult and time-consuming task like a digital version of switching the engine of a car, Ethereum has now achieved energy efficiency and can class itself as one of the few environmentally-friendly cryptocurrencies that now consumes around 99.9% less energy.
To put this into perspective, this transformation is equal to the country of Finland closing down its national power grid, according to Digiconomist.
And it’s not just energy efficiency that The Merge will bring. According to the team behind the Ethereum network, the transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake will lead to more security and scalability for the Ethereum platform, which is home to more than billion worth of crypto exchanges, lending companies, and non-fungible token (NFT) marketplaces.
“If you’re investing in Ethereum or any kind of blockchain technology, you’re investing in something in its early days. You’re going to need a long-term time horizon to see how things evolve. I really don’t think there’s a lot that folks who own Ethereum should be doing at this point.” – Doug Boneparth, financial advisor.
But amongst the ever-sceptical crypto community, many people are eagerly eyeing up The Merge and are keen to see how it will perform in the next few months. Is this the key to a bright future for Ethereum, or is it all just hype? Most importantly, how will it impact the price of Ethereum in future?
To answer this demand for answers, let’s delve into five ways that the Ethereum merge can affect trading and the wider world of cryptocurrency.
Can The Merge Secure Ethereum Against Hackers?
There is a lot of money involved in crypto, and the blockchain is a prime target for online hackers. In 2022, losses stemming from crypto hacks have skyrocketed by 60% to a staggering combined value of .9 billion. Naturally, many people are keen to know if The Merge can make the Ethereum network more secure against hackers.
The blockchain will always have weak spots for hackers to take advantage of; The Merge has arguably made advances to secure the Ethereum network. For example, the cost to validate transactions on the Ethereum blockchain is 33 ETH, or around ,000.
This initial investment is a significant barrier for hackers to gain access to the network, with no guarantee that their attack will be successful. However, what can be a step towards higher trustworthiness is to always look for purchasing Ethereum from reliable trading platforms such as Kucoin, Gemini, Immediate Edge or Coinbase just to limit the exposure to scams as much as possible.
Can More People Use The Ethereum Network Now?
One of the most popular aspects of the Ethereum network is that those who use it can earn rewards through their participation in the network, thereby securing it in the process. Following The Merge, the rewards opportunities are now open to more people as there is much more room for new users to use the network now.
Following the transition to proof of stake (PoS), miners no longer validate transactions on the Ethereum blockchain. Instead, validations are carried out through the staking process. This means that users who hold Ethereum tokens can now stake some of them to validate transactions and secure the Ethereum network. In return, users are rewarded with a fraction of the transaction fees.
Mining, an intense and expensive to run operation, required advanced computer equipment and knowledge to be done effectively. This presented a barrier for many people. Staking, however, is not only beginner-friendly, it’s cheaper to start with and much more straightforward to get involved and reap the benefits.
As well as the Ethereum blockchain itself, various widely used platforms like Coinbase, Lido Finance, and some platforms available through services like Immediate Edge offer the chance to stake Ethereum simply via an automated process. APY rates are currently between 3% and 3.8% on most major platforms.
If you wish to stake your Ethereum, fully understanding how the staking process works beforehand is important. Once you stake, you’ll be unable to trade your staked amount for a pre-agreed period of time. However, if you’re a long-term investor, this is no issue.
Compared to traditional dividend stocks, the interest rates awarded for staking Ethereum after The Merge are vastly superior. It provides the chance for Ethereum holders to earn a passive stream of income automatically. Thus, it presents another good reason to own Ethereum that will likely drive more people to invest in it.
How Will Energy-Efficiency Affect Ethereum?
The environmental drain of cryptocurrencies like Ethereum has long hindered their scalability. However, The Merge will now see Ethereum use around 99.9% less energy, a huge boost to its sustainability and the key to more widespread adoption.
Through its transition to proof of stake, Ethereum is sending a message to those seeking to regulate the crypto market that it can adapt to the future and place the preservation of the planet at the forefront of its foals.
Recently, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) conducted an in-depth report on the Climate and Energy Implications of Crypto-Assets in the United States, showing that mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies is becoming increasingly considered by the highest levels of government.
Many are hoping that the Ethereum Merge will only lead to more research and collaboration between the crypto industry and global governments, which will hopefully have a massively positive effect on the value of crypto overall.
Will Ethereum Gas Fees Lower After The Merge?
One of the biggest drawbacks of the Ethereum network is the Gas fees. This is the obligatory fee that comes with any form of transaction carried out on the Ethereum blockchain. They are paid using Ethereum’s native token of ETH and often rise dramatically if there is an increased demand for processing transactions.
At some of the highest traffic periods on the Ethereum blockchain, gas fees can surge to hundreds of dollars. As a result, it can be completely inefficient for many. So many people are questioning if The Merge will lower these Gas fees.
The answer? Yes, and no. Gas fees are predicted to lower in future, but not straight away. The transition to proof-of-stake won’t expand Ethereum’s network capacity, which is needed to lower gas fees.
However, the Ethereum network is implemented a Layer 2 technology called roll-ups; This effectively “rolls up” a wide range of transactions off of the Ethereum blockchain, processes them, and then subsequently records a smaller, compressed version on the main Ethereum blockchain. To realise the introduction of this technology, The Merger is vital.
How Will The Merge Affect The ETH Price For Investors?
Now, we reach the most important question: How will The Merge affect investors like you? Many of you may have been initially disappointed to see the price of ETH plummet after The Merge, as many people expected the complete opposite.
However, it’s important to remember that the effects of The Merge will not be immediately made apparent. The Ethereum network will not become high-speed with low transaction fees straight away; it will take place over the next few months and years.
All these positive upgrades to Ethereum can attract more investors, bringing the supply of ETH down and positively affecting the price of Ethereum’s native token.
In Conclusion: The Future Is Bright, The Future Is Merged!
And so, to sum up: The best way to explain The Merge is as a foundation for the future of Ethereum. From high speeds to lower fees and overall environmental efficiency, The Merge results have the potential for an Ethereum bull run sometime soon.
Ethereum may now be primed for new institutional investors who prioritise environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices but have been dissuaded in the past due to Ethereum’s high energy consumption. Following The Merge, Ethereum is now an energy-efficient and more environmentally friendly asset to own.
It’s clear that some majorly positive changes are coming to the Ethereum network. But a lot will stay the same in the early days of The Merge. At least, for now. Over the last five years, Ethereum has provided a return on investment of 600%. Will that number be surpassed in the coming months? Only time will tell.
The future of Ethereum looks bright following the benefits that The Merge can bring. But as with any cryptocurrency, nothing is guaranteed. Always invest responsibly and seek out the advice of a licensed financial advisor if you’re investing in cryptocurrency for the first time. Trading digital currencies can be highly volatile and are not recommended for everybody.