The long-awaited “merge” finally introduced proof-of-stake validation and staking to the Ethereum (ETH -1.62%) blockchain network. The massive platform upgrade did not send Ethereum prices skyward, though. Instead, the Ether token fell 10% that week. It looks like crypto investors had priced every bit of this event’s upside into the digital asset before it even happened.
With the merge in the rearview mirror, is it time to load up on Ethereum in early October?
Let’s take a look.
The lack of excitement was expected
The indifferent market reaction to Ethereum’s big upgrade didn’t surprise me. This event was planned years in advance. The Beacon chain, which provides Ethereum’s new proof-of-stake data validation functions, started its test runs way back in 2020. The planning stages go back even further. Investors had plenty of time to bake its effects into the cryptocurrency’s price.
Yes, this was a momentous platform upgrade. Now, Ethereum runs faster and cheaper, using just 0.05% of the electric power it consumed as a proof-of-work system.
However, it’s actually just one step in a longer journey. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin considers Ethereum’s blockchain network to be 55% complete after the merge, and the developer community has several important follow-up improvements planned for 2023 and beyond.
Ethereum’s real value-building qualities
Ethereum’s market value depends on people actually using the blockchain network. The more Ethereum is used in decentralized finance apps, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), blockchain-based games, and other user-facing situations, the more each token will be worth.
The market is poised to grow dramatically from today’s modest level of roughly 1.2 million transactions per day. Imagine a world where pretty much every consumer relies on blockchain-based apps for everyday banking services and payment options. Ethereum won’t own the entire space, but it does have a head start on up-and-coming alternatives such as Solana and…
![Anticipation for Ethereum [ETH] 2.0 rises as metric reaches all-time high](https://crypto.newswireservice.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/ethereum-wale-1000x600-350x250.jpg)
