The top 10 Ethereum non-exchange addresses have witnessed an 11% fall in their holdings, while on-exchange whale addresses have seen a 78% surge over the last three months.
The Ethereum blockchain network will undergo one of the biggest modifications since it was first created (PoS) when it switches from its current proof-of-work mining consensus to a proof-of-stake one.
The Merge date is set to be on September 15 after the successful Goerli testnet integration, the last testnet merger before the actual transition. Following the announcement of the Merge date in July, the price of Ether (ETH), the native currency of Ethereum, had a bullish spike, soaring to a new six-month high of almost $2,000.
The optimistic frenzy in terms of token price and market mood appears to be waning as the Merge draws closer. The holdings of a sizable number of ETH whales continue to see a steep decrease.
The difference between the top 10 largest non-exchange addresses and exchange addresses on Ethereum is diminishing according to data from crypto analytics company Santiment. Top whale addresses have sent a sizable quantity of ETH to exchanges over the last three months. Exchange-based addresses have increased by 78% while non-exchange addresses have decreased by 11%.
Whales may be anticipating a price decline in the near term as evidenced by the influx of cryptocurrencies onto exchanges, which frequently reflects bearish sentiment and is done by traders looking to profit by selling their tokens.
Numerous market analysts think that the Merge will be a case of “buy the rumor, sell the news.” The adage suggests that if positive news is anticipated at some point in the future, the price will frequently increase prior to that time but may not do so immediately later. Following the confirmation of the Merge date, the market spiked, although it might soon experience a price drop.
The Merge will complete the second of three stages in the conversion of Ethereum to PoS. The Beacon Chain’s debut in December 2020 marked the start of the procedure.
Midway through 2021 was the projected end date for the current phase. Though it is now expected to happen in the third quarter of 2022 due to many delays. The third phase will be the most important since it will provide various scalability features like sharding and drastically lower the energy usage of the blockchain.
The occurrence on September 15 is a critical turning point for Ethereum, however the Merge just signifies a shift in mining consensus. After the third phase is finished, significant advantages like a high transaction throughput, lower gas costs, and a decrease in energy usage will become available.