- Ethereum is finally a proof-of-stake protocol following the much-awaited Merge on September 15.
- ETH price gives up gains to $1,500 after the Merge failed to trigger a rally to $2,000.
- Ethereum price may reverse the trend to the upside if support at $1,500 stays intact.
Ethereum price is fighting to find footing after slipping below $1,600. The last few days have seen the newest proof-of-stake crypto asset lose at least 16% of its value due to intensifying external economic forces. Declines are likely to stretch beneath $1,500 despite Ethereum activating the Merge earlier on Thursday.
Ethereum ditches PoW – activates PoS protocol
The Ethereum community is celebrating a successful transition from a proof-of-work (PoW) to a proof-of-stake consensus in a process dubbed the Merge. At around 6.44 am UTC, the Total Terminal Difficulty (TTD) for the software upgrade was initiated on the PoW chain. TTD refers to the measure of the difficulty in processing a block of transactions. According to The Block, the major epoch was completed at 6.59 am, marking a key development in the Merge process.
"And we finalized! Happy Merge all. This is a big moment for the Ethereum ecosystem. Everyone who helped make the Merge happen should feel very proud today," Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum's co-founder, announced via Twitter.
Ethereum price in turmoil post Merge
Investors have resorted to selling the news, forcing immense overhead pressure on Ethereum price. Support at $1,500 is now critical for the resumption of the uptrend, but a sell signal from the Super Trend indicator hints at more pain ahead.
The last time this indicator flipped above Ethereum price, the second-largest crypto plunged 24% from $1,876 to $1,428. In other words, investors should brace for declines targeting $1,400 if support at $1,500 cracks.
ETH/USD eight-hour chart
On the upside, the IOMAP on-chain model paints a grim picture for Ethereum price going forward. Seller congestion lies between $1,609 and $1,652, where 856,900 addresses previously scooped up 8.37 million tokens. Breaking through this range might be a tall order, as investors who bought at those levels sell to break even.
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Ethereum IOMAP model
On the other hand, support areas remain elusive except for a medium-strong buyer congestion zone between $1,475 and $1,518. If left unprotected, all hell may break loose – leaving Ethereum price spiraling further below $1,400.
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