Ethereum Merge News Just Around the Corner

Ethereum merge news is having an impact on the price of digital assets linked to the blockchain.

ETH-based digital asset funds have seen positive inflows for seven straight weeks as institutional investors pile in, according to the latest CoinShares report. There were $16.3 million inflows last week, bringing total inflows to $159 million over seven weeks.

Market sentiment for Ethereum-focused products is primarily due to "greater clarity" regarding the upcoming merge. It is scheduled for September 19, according to CoinShares Head of Research James Butterfill on Monday. A shift from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake in Ethereum's algorithm is credited with the change in investor sentiment.

Finally, Ethereum 2.0 Beacon Chain will be added to the mainnet in the merge, concluding an important transition from PoW to PoS. When Ethereum switches to a PoS consensus mechanism, it should become more secure and use less energy, which will, of course, help make it less harmful to the environment.

The Goerli and Prater testnet merge is also scheduled for this week, and it will be the final dress rehearsal before the mainnet merge takes place in less than six weeks.

Traders are getting ready for the next round of trading

Cryptocurrency analysts Glassnode have predicted that the anticipated Ethereum merge news will lead to "buy the rumor and sell the news" among traders. For Ethereum, "derivatives traders are placing obvious bets on the upcoming merge."

An analytics firm's newsletter, Betting on the Merge, ETH options and futures are now in "backwardation". That is a situation in which the current price of an asset is higher than the prices trading in the futures market.

When it comes to the Ethereum merge news, futures and options markets are in a backwardation after September, which suggests that traders are anticipating an event like this and have positioned themselves accordingly, the newsletter said. Data from Ethereum options shows professional traders are ready to go long on ETH's Merge, which is relevant.

However, the merge's impact on Ether's price is yet to be determined.

In a recent interview, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin said the "narrative" is likely to remain positive after the merge, which is "an aspect that hasn't yet been priced in."

He added, "I expect morale to soar once the merger is completed. In other words, I believe the merger will not be priced in, and by that, I mean not just in terms of market value, but also in terms of psychological impact and narrative arc. After the fact, I don't think it's going to be factored into the narrative at all."

CoinGecko reports the price of Ethereum is $1,776 at the time of writing, up 8.6% in the last seven days.