Ethereum: Should ETH traders take long bets with tentative Merge date

Ethereum’s transition into a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism continues to be at the forefront of discussions within the blockchain ecosystem.

On 11 August, core developers on the network, on a consensus layer call, suggested possible dates for the Ethereum Merge.

Before the eventual Merge into a proof-of-stake network, the blockchain has to complete two upgrades called “Bellatrix” and “Paris.”

According to the developers on the call, the “Bellatrix” upgrade will occur on 6 September, and the “Paris” upgrade will happen when the network’s hash rate reaches a specified level – a total terminal difficulty (TTD) of 58750000000000000000000- expected by 16 September.

Following this announcement, the price of Ether quickly rallied to trade above the $1900 region, a position it last hit in May.

In fact, ETH sold for as high as $1927 during the intraday trading session on 11 August. So what else happened in the last 24 hours?

All hail King Ether? 

After rallying to a high of $1927 during yesterday’s (11 August) intraday trading session, a minor price retracement pushed the price of the leading alt downwards.

As of this writing, ETH exchanged hands at $1,887.66, dropping by 2% since yesterday’s high. 

However, it is worth noting that despite yesterday’s price rally, trading activity on the network declined. According to data from CoinMarketCap, trading volume in the last 24 hours declined by 30.64%.

Interestingly data from Santiment revealed a gradual growth in ETH’s trading volume since the beginning of the month.

However, following the price rally on 11 August, ETH’s trading activity lost its momentum. 

With discussions surrounding the Merge intensifying in the last month, ETH addresses with a balance greater than $10 million worth of ETH have grown.

After the market downturn between April and June caused this index to drop by 52%, the number of this category of whales has started to increase.

Between 1 July and the time of writing, wallets holding ETH worth over $10 million have grown by 38%.

In addition, developmental activity has spiked by 7% in the last month.

Following yesterday’s announcement, the alt’s social volume marked a high of 11,381, making Merge the top trending crypto topic.

That being said, ETH’s social dominance rallied to a high of 16.17% before dropping by 22%.

With more ETH being sent into exchanges than are taken out, the price is expected to face volatility in the next few days.