In this case, Marcus Sotiriou, an analyst at digital asset broker firm GlobalBlock acknowledged that the Merge presents several risks that might stand out during the initial stages of the upgrade, he said in a note shared with Finbold on September 12.  According to Sotiriou, after the transition, some of the notable challenges likely to emerge will be the inability of users to process the new chain since the software will still be new.  Notably, a section of the crypto community has maintained that for the Merge’s impact to be felt, the September 15 event must be successful.

Impact of the Merge on the general market 

At the same time, the analyst acknowledged that the Merge is a complex technical event that will affect Ethereum and the general cryptocurrency sector. However, he pointed out that the long-term benefits outweigh the short-term concerns.  Sotiriou also suggested that by alleviating the environmental concern, the Merge will open the door for institutional capital inflow in the second-ranked cryptocurrency by market capitalization.  The projection is also backed by mainstream players, including the Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), which believes the Merge will likely lead to institutional adoption that’s known to drive prices higher.  With uncertainty regarding how the Merge will turn out, some investors are betting on the asset’s price, considering that the blockchain upgrade is viewed as bullish for Ethereum as the fear of missing (FOMO) sets in.  This notion is backed by Santiment, that notes that searches related to the event have surged recently, with investors expecting volatility in the asset.

Growing interest in Ethereum

Similarly, the crypto trading platform BuyUcoin, has also recorded an uptick in Ethereum-related transactions.  Overall, the Merge forms part of a big week ahead, as acknowledged by crypto trading expert Michaël van de Poppe in a tweet on September 12.  According to Poppe, crypto investors should also look out for the upcoming inflation data release alongside the likely climax of the U.S. dollar index. 

Ethereum’s price after the Merge

Overall, several market analysts have fronted different possible scenarios on price movements for Ethereum after the Merge. As reported by Finbold, a popular crypto trader warned that Ethereum might undergo a pump and dump situation, especially with the distribution of tokens from the old Proof-of-Work (PoW) protocol.  Interestingly, CEO of FTX crypto exchange Sam Bankman-Fried has also projected rockiness around the initial stages of the Merge. According to Bankman-Fried: Elsewhere, as per a Finbold report, Antoni Trenchev, the co-founder of crypto lending platform Nexo, also stated that investors should not expect an automatic rally in Ethereum since the Merge’s initial success will impact the price movement. Disclaimer: The content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing, your capital is at risk.