Ethereum (ETH) hodlers that don’t play their cards right following the Ethereum Merge may be in for a hefty bill come tax time, according to tax experts. Around Sept.15, the Ethereum blockchain is set to transition from its current proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism to proof-of-stake (PoS), aimed at improving the network’s impact on the environment. There is a chance that The Merge will result in a contentious hard fork, which will cause ETH holders to receive duplicate units of hard-forked Ethereum tokens, similar to what happened when the Ethereum and Ethereum Classic hard fork occurred in 2016. Tax compliance firm …

The Golden State of California may be America's most inquisitive state about Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), new data from CoinGecko has revealed. In a report shared by CoinGecko, internet users from California accounted for a whopping 43% of all Bitcoin and Ethereum web traffic searches on the crypto tracking website. This is despite the entire state population only accounting for 11.9% of the U.S. population. Bobby Ong, COO and co-founder of CoinGecko said it was “unsurprising” that California took the crown in the blue-chip cryptocurrency interest, given its place as a “major technological hub.” California is also home to …

Bitcoin (BTC) price continues to struggle at $20,000 and repeat dips under this level have led some analysts to project deeper downside in the short-term. Earlier in the week, independent market analyst Philip Swift tweeted that the Crypto Fear and Greed Index had dropped back to back to “Extreme Fear,” reflecting softening sentiment among investors. The market is not enjoying $BTC hanging around $20k. Back into Extreme Fear today. Live chart: https://t.co/Jr5151zN7I pic.twitter.com/UnztrZP7FP — Philip Swift (@PositiveCrypto) August 31, 2022 On Aug 29, analytics firm Delphi Digital highlighted Bitcoin open interest hitting a new record-high and said: “The Futures Open …

Bitcoin (BTC) price has been trying to change course while the S&P 500 is still giving up gains on a daily basis. Even though the United States equities markets have been grinding lower since Aug. 26, Bitcoin has managed to hold on to the $20,000 mark. However, investor interest seems to be shifting away from Bitcoin. That has led to a reduction in assets under management (AUM) for Bitcoin investment products, which dropped 7.16% in August to $17.4 billion, according to a new report by CryptoCompare. In comparison, the AUM for Ethereum (ETH) products increased 2.36% to $6.81 billion during …

Ethereum's native token, Ether (ETH), looks ready to grow stronger compared to the U.S. dollar and Bitcoin (BTC) in the days leading up to its proof-of-stake transition in September. ETH price chart bullish setup The bullish outlook emerges from classic technical indicators on ETH/USD and ETH/BTC charts. For instance, ETH/USD has been forming a "falling wedge" pattern with a profit target sitting around 30% above the current prices. Meanwhile, the ETH/BTC chart is painting a potential "bull flag" that could increase the price by approximately 10% from current price levels upon resolution. Here's how these bullish setups could play out. …

The Ethereum network will be able to withstand censorship risks both in the short and long term, according to Ethereum community member and investor, Ryan Berckmans. The ban of Ethereum-based privacy tool tornado Cash by U.S. authorities earlier this month left many wondering whether Ethereum transactions could be also at risk of censorship, especially after Ethereum’s imminent transition to a proof-of-stake system. A widely spread concern is that entities controlling a large chunk of staked Eth, such as Coinbase or Kraken, would start censoring transactions in order to comply with U.S. sanctions. That is an unlikely scenario according to Berckmans, …

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong believe that a gradual mind shift and important community contributions led to their backing of Ethereum’s upcoming move from a proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus. The two industry titans joined Coinbase protocol specialist Viktor Bunin on the Around the Block podcast for an enlightening discussion centered on The Merge, which is set to take place in mid-September 2022. Buterin reflected on his history of considering proof-of-stake as a potential consensus mechanism for the Ethereum blockchain, which was initially met with skepticism due to a number of unsolved problems that made …

The Ethereum Merge is slated for Sept. 15, which will see the Ethereum blockchain move from its current proof-of-work (PoW) mining consensus to proof-of-stake (PoS). The Merge is being touted as one of the biggest upgrades for the Ethereum blockchain as it would help the network move to a more energy-efficient way of verifying transactions and eliminate PoW mining completely. With the Merge date approaching, Ether (ETH) miner's balance has touched a new four-year high. According to Oklink data, the balance of Ethereum miner addresses exceeded 260,000 ETH with a total of 261,848 ETH valued at over $415 million at …

Ethereum investment products increased by 2.36% to $6.81 billion in assets under management (AUM) throughout August, outperforming Bitcoin products which saw a 7.16% drop off to $17.4 billion. The figures were contained in a new report by CryptoCompare. This was also reflected in the Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH)-product trading volumes, with Grayscale’s most notable Bitcoin product, GBTC experiencing a 24.4% drop in volume, while its Ethereum product, GETH actually increased 23.2%. CryptoCompare's report suggeste the highly anticipated Ethereum Merge was the cause behind the change in trading volumes: Indeed, even at a more granular level, no Bitcoin products covered …

Ahead of the rapidly approaching Ethereum (ETH) Merge on Sept. 15, Ethermine, the world’s largest Ethereum mining pool has unveiled a new staking pool for users. Notably however, it is not available to U.S. miners The new service offers Ethermine members a chance to collectively stake their ETH and earn interest on top of their deposits. As little as 0.1 ETH ($159) required to enter. However the smaller the holding, the greater the fee. The platform is currently offering stakers an annual ETH interest rate of 4.43%. At the time of writing, 393 Ether worth roughly $626,000 at current prices …

On Aug. 30, global investment bank UBS increased its view on the risk of the United States entering a recession within one year to 60%, up from 40% in June. According to economist Pierre Lafourcade, the latest data showed a 94% chance of the economy contracting, but added that it "does not morph into a full-blown recession." Partially explaining the difference is the "extremely low levels" of non-performing loans, or defaults exceeding 90 days from credit borrowers. According to Citigroup Chief Executive Jane Fraser, the institution "feels very good about" liquidity and credit quality. Furthermore, Reuters states that the financial …

Ether (ETH) is the second largest crypto by market capitalization and the absolute leader in decentralized applications by deposits. Becoming a victim of its own success, the network experienced a fee hike in November 2021 when the average transaction costs surpassed $50. That's precisely why the Merge is a critical step to implementing a fully functional scaling solution. The confirmation of a transition to a proof of stake (PoS) consensus was the main driver for the rally toward $2,000 on Aug. 15. Investors were partially excited about the reduced issuing schedule and likely a transition to a deflationary scenario, but …