Bitcoin falls 6 per cent; Ethereum down after the Merge
BENGALURU: Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, on Monday dropped close to 6 per cent and reached below the USD 18,300 level, and Ethereum too hit a multi-month low following the Merge. The Merge, which is the technical upgrade of Ethereum, was completed recently, and analysts predict a further fall in prices in the coming weeks.
Prashant Kumar, Founder and CEO at WeTrade said, “Ethereum completed a historic update with the Merge last week. With a move that big, there are bound to be teething troubles.” There was a certain amount of short-term selling that was also expected.
However, we are seeing a decline in all cryptocurrencies and not just Ethereum. The current decline cannot be associated with the Merge alone but global economic factors including inflation hikes in the US are key contributors to this, he adds.
Ethereum on Monday plunged 10 per cent and was trading below USD 1,300 level. The global crypto market capitalisation on Monday evening stood at USD 935.39 billion, close to 3 per cent fall over the previous day. Naimish Sanghvi, Advisor at KoinX, said that the Merge is not the reason for a fall in Ethereum prices. “It could be because of two reasons- to acquire free ETHW tokens and to quickly scalp in the merge hype.”
ETHW is a new cryptocurrency that was created post the merge. “Now that the merge is over, there isn’t much need for day traders to hold ETH,” he said.