Given the current state of the wider crypto market, some traders might be surprised to learn that Ether (ETH) has been trading in an ascending trend for the past 17 days. While the entire cryptocurrency market experienced a 10% decline on Sept. 13, Ether price held firm near the $1,570 support level. In less than 12 hours the Ethereum network is scheduled to undergo its largest ever upgrade and the possibility of extreme volatility should not be ignored. The transition to a Proof-of-Stake network will be a game changer for multiple reasons, including a 98.5% cut in energy use and …

The Merge is fast approaching — and the switch to a Proof-of-Stake blockchain will be the most significant moment in Ethereum's history. Now, Proof of Attendance Protocols — unique NFTs known as POAPs for short — are being created for crypto enthusiasts who want a special memento of this historic occasion. POAPs have been celebrated by none other than Vitalik Buterin himself, as it allows recipients to show they personally participated in an event, such as a conference. The project spearheading these commemorative NFTs is known as EtherPOAP — and in another distinctive twist, POAP badges are going to be …

Amazing things are being built in Web3 — often by pseudonymous individuals who prefer to keep their real-world identity private. In some ways, this is liberating. It means that anyone can have a chance to get involved in a project and deliver value to the community — irrespective of their background. But as decentralized identities proliferate, there's one issue that cannot be ignored: Ensuring that there's an easy way for us to verify the reputation of others. This matters… for many reasons. If you're about to start using a DeFi project created by someone pseudonymous, you'd like a way to …

A report from blockchain analytics platform Nansen highlights five entities that hold 64% of staked Ether (ETH) ahead of Ethereum’s highly anticipated Merge with the Beacon chain. Ethereum’s shift from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake is set to take place in the coming days after final updates and shadow forks were completed in early September. The key component of The Merge sees miners no longer used as validators, replaced by stakers that commit ETH to maintain the network. Nansen’s report highlights that just over 11% of the total circulating ETH is staked, with 65% liquid and 35% illiquid. There are a total …

In recent years, nonfungible tokens (NFTs), cryptocurrencies and other modern investment options have become trendy. However, physical commodities such as gold are still in high demand. In 2021, the global market capitalization for cryptocurrency surpassed $2 trillion. Now, investors must ask themselves: which option should I choose — crypto or gold? Gold is a commodity that dates back thousands of years as a store of value and as a means of exchange and is still successful today. Even with the invention of decentralized digital cryptocurrency, gold has remained just as prominent. Although, for most individual investors, owning gold can be …

A new report released from CoinGecko uncovered the places around the world most interested in the upcoming Ethereum Merge. The data found Singapore as the most interested country worldwide and by a large margin at that. Singapore scored 377, which is nearly 100 points higher than the second place nations, Switzerland and Canada, both tied at 286 point. Germany, the United States and the Netherlands filled out the remaining top five spots. Scores were determined through an analysis of the frequency of ten search terms then combined for the overall ranking. These terms included ‘Ethereum Merge’, ‘ETH Merge’ and ‘Ethereum …

A recent report from the Ethereum Enterprise Alliance (EEA) highlights how the Ethereum ecosystem has matured to a point where the network can be used by businesses to solve real-world problems. From supply chain management use cases to payment solutions utilized by companies like Visa and PayPal, the report demonstrates how the Ethereum network has grown to become one of the most valued public blockchains. Although notable, the EEA report also points out that the rapid growth of the Ethereum ecosystem has created a number of challenges for companies, specifically regarding energy consumption, scalability and privacy. For example, the document …

Bitcoin (BTC) could dive another 50% from current levels if the upcoming winter proves a major test for Europe. That was the conclusion of a veteran crypto market analyst this week, with BTC/USD failing to reclaim $20,000 support. In an interview with Cointelegraph, Filbfilb, creator of trading suite Decentrader, forecast a potential BTC price bottom coming in at as low $10,000 in 2022. As the European energy crisis intensifies, risk assets face a major test, he believes, and the extent to which crypto suffers depends considerably on how diplomacy can win out to avert a major emergency into 2023. The …

Ethereum is just over a week away from officially moving to a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain with the Merge slated for completion around Sept. 13–15. With the transition, Ethereum would abandon its current proof-of-work (PoW) chain, eliminating miners from the ecosystem. Ethereum is a vast ecosystem with thousands of decentralized applications and decentralized finance protocols working on top of it. Additionally, there are several layer-2 solutions, i.e., solutions built on top of the blockchain itself, the layer 1, to facilitate faster transactions and make Ethereum more scalable. The Merge would mark the completion of the second phase of the three-phase transition …

Ethereum's native token Ether (ETH) shows the potential to log major gains versus Bitcoin (BTC) with the ETH/BTC pair nearing yearly highs. Ether paints classic bullish reversal pattern The bullish cues come from a classic technical pattern called the inverse head and shoulders, which develops when the price forms three troughs below a common support level known as neckline. The middle trough, or head, is deeper than the other two, called the shoulders. An inverse head and shoulders setup resolves after the price breaks above the neckline while accompanying an increase in trading volume. As a rule of technical analysis, …

Bitcoin (BTC) whales are betting on a rebound as fresh data shows “classic” bottom behavior. According to on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant, large-volume investors are moving coins to derivatives exchanges en masse this month. Analyst: Whales protectin positions "forming a local bottom" As BTC/USD hit its lowest levels since the end of June, whales were responding kind. In one of its Quicktake market updates posted on Sep. 7, CryptoQuant analyst Maartunn flagged a marked uptick in the monthly average number of transactions made between spot exchanges and derivatives platforms. Whales, Maartunn argued, are hedging their losses and transferring funds to use …

The DAO behind the decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Aave has accepted a proposal to reward members from Aave Companies with $16.28 million in retroactive funding for their role in the development of Aave Protocol V3. Voting for the proposal began on Sept. 6, and at the time of writing has already passed 667,000 votes in favor of the funding, more than doubling the 320,000 required. The vote is set to end on Sept. 8. According to the initial proposal, which was first pitched on Aug. 10, the Aave Request for Comment (ARC) seeked “retroactive funding” for work in developing the …