Ethereum the Merge: Price plunge & investor sentiment

The much-anticipated upgrade to Ethereum, the merge, was completed on September 15. It transformed the blockchain’s Proof-of-work (PoW) mechanism into Proof-of-Stake (PoS). The market experts were optimistic that this upgrade would positively influence the Ether price. However, it has not been the case as the Ethereum price is continually plunging after the merger.

Perhaps, the reason could be the overall downturn of the crypto market. Bitcoin is also struggling to maintain a price of over $20K. Besides, its worth even dropped under $19K this month. This has affected the entire crypto market, including Ether. Nonetheless, there are several other triggers, too.

Ether’s nosedive after the merge

ETH was steadily thriving in the last three months when the BTC price struggled to hold its ground. In comparison to BTC, ETH saw a surge of around 60%. However, after the Ethereum merge, it dropped significantly.

Five days before the upgrade, Ether’s price was approaching $1,800. Even up to September 14, Ether was trading at over $1,600. But as it completed the upgrade, it lost over $300 in value. It saw a drop of almost 21% in the last seven days, showing worrying signs for Ethereum investors.

Ether’s nosedive after the merge

ETH was steadily thriving in the last three months when the BTC price was struggling to hold its ground. In comparison to BTC, ETH saw a surge of around 60%. However, after the Ethereum merge, it dropped significantly.

Five days before the upgrade, Ether’s price was approaching $1,800. Even till September 14, Ether was being traded at over $1,600. But as it completed the upgrade, it lost over $300 in value. Besides, in the last 7 days, it saw a drop of almost 21%. This shows worrying signs for the Ethereum investors.

Ethereum the merge: Investor sentiment

Disappointing US economic indicators such as high inflation, looming imminent securities regulation that may apply to Ether staking, and a market downturn have negatively affected crypto investor sentiment. After the completion of the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade, the selling pressure increased. Many investors chose to liquidate their funds while the price was high to protect themselves from potential losses.

Even after this event, ETH investment products saw tremendous outflows. Ether threw up $15.4 million in outflows. However, this was not a market-wide trend, as BTC saw an addition of around $17.4 million in investment in the same period. Time will tell if the Ethereum price has been merely affected by hawkish sentiment or if the Merge is not worth the hype.