The Ethereum price is rallying above critical levels as “The Merge” is on the horizon, the bullish momentum might receive a fresh push and finally take ETH north of $2,000. Market participants speculate about what the future holds for the second cryptocurrency according to market capital.
At the time of writing, Ethereum’s price trades at $1,710 with a 4% loss in the last 24 hours and a 9% profit over the last week. After leading the market for weeks, ETH has fallen behind Bitcoin. In just seven days, the number-one cryptocurrency saw an 11 percent increase.
Check out the video below to see how our Editorial Director Tony Spilotro argues for a bottom that has enormous potential for appreciation similar to 2020.
Who Is Most Likely To Sell After “The Merge”?
The market is seemingly divided on “The Merge”, the event that will complete the ETH transition to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus. Some expect the Ethereum price will operate under a “buy the rumor, sell the news event”, other are betting on a bullish continuation.
In a recent report from on-chain analytics firm Nansen, looking into the top ETH stakers ahead of “The Merge”, the staking dynamics, and its impact to affect the Ethereum price, there is a forecast about a potential negative impact on the cryptocurrency from stakers.
Nansen disapproves of any bearish influences from investors in the short term. The ETH that is currently on the Beacon Chain will not be available until after the Shanghai upgrade. Stakers will now be able withdraw their funds with this update.
Illiquid stakers are those that send their ETH to the Beacon Chain in 2020, they can’t withdraw their funds for an undefined period of time, and liquid is those using Lido and similar solutions to stake their funds and receive the rewards.
Nansen thinks that illiquid stakers will be less likely to buy after 2023’s Shanghai upgrade, if $600 remains. There is around 1 million ETH locked at that price which could “dripped not the market”.
According to the report, 71% of all ETH that was used for the PoS Blockchain security was lost. Nansen claims 18% of “all staked ETH at present belongs to illiquid stakers that are in profit, the category most likely to sell once they are able to unstake”.
Nansen does not expect this selling to have a negative impact on Ethereum’s price, nor will it put a lot of selling pressure on the cryptocurrency market. This factor could operate as another bullish fundamental for an Ethereum price post “Merge”.
Whales acquire Ethereum in 2022
Nansen also noted a decrease in the number of ETH billionaires and millionaires, which could have a low-term impact on Ethereum’s price. The on-chain analytics company has labeled these addresses as individuals, and not exchange or smart contracts.
The report claims that these large players have “consistently been stacking Ethereum since the beginning of this year”, despite the bearish price action. The image above shows that the trend is still evident and has risen in September and August this year.
Will tris accumulation positively impact the market or are these whales accumulating to dump ETH shortly after “The Merge”?