The assumption that Ethereum will just transition to a fully functional proof-of-stake (PoS) network after the Merge somewhat ignores the risk and effort necessary to move an asset that has a $193 billion market capitalization and 400 decentralized applications (DApps).

That is precisely why monitoring vital network conditions is essential for anyone willing to . . . → Read More: Ethereum gone wrong? Here are 3 signs to keep an eye on during the Merge

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced Monday that it plans to halt all deposits and withdrawals of Ethereum (ETH) and Wrapped Ethereum (WETH) on selected networks, starting September 6th at 2 am (UTC) in anticipation of Ethereum’s Merge event.

#Binance will suspend deposits and withdrawals for Ether $ETH and Wrapped Ether $WETH on . . . → Read More: Binance to temporarily suspend ETH and WETH deposits and withdrawals ahead of the Merge

Ethereum Classic (ETC) price rallied on Sept. 5 on back-to-back positive reports concerning its adoption among crypto miners.

Top mining pool supports Ethereum Classic

On the daily chart, ETC’s price surged 14.5% to nearly $37.25 per token. Its massive gains came days after BTC.com, a blockchain explorer and crypto mining pool, launched a specialized Ethereum . . . → Read More: Ethereum Classic books 12% rally as mining support for ETC gains pace

Many believe that after Ethereum transitions to proof-of-stake (PoS), a faction of Ether (ETH) miners will be creating a proof-of-work (PoW) fork of the network so that they can still keep mining. An executive believes that there are ways for ETH holders to take advantage of this upcoming event. 

In a Twitter thread, . . . → Read More: ETH Merge: CoinGecko co-founder shares strategy for forked tokens

Disclaimer: FTX has deleted the source tweet and updated the blog post that was the basis of the initial story. This article has been updated based on new official information to confirm that FTX will suspend ETH deposits and withdrawals, and not halt the trades on the crypto exchange.

While Ethereum devs promised . . . → Read More: FTX to halt ETH deposit and withdrawals on Arbitrum, Solana, BSC during the Merge

Ethereum’s native token, Ether (ETH), is not immune to downside risk in September after rallying approximately 90% from its bottom of around $880 in June.

Much of the token’s upside move is attributed to the Merge, a technical upgrade that would make Ethereum a proof-of-stake (PoS) protocol, slated for Sep. 15.

But despite logging impressive . . . → Read More: Surge or purge? Why the Merge may not save Ethereum price from ‘Septembear’

Sovereign identity has been a hot topic in blockchain and cryptocurrency, especially with the rise of the creator economy. Currently, there are two types of digital identities. One is federated and centralized whereby data is in the control of the service provider. Self-sovereign digital identity is often cited as a human right that . . . → Read More: NFT Steez and Lukso co-founder explore the implications of digital self-sovereignty in Web3

NFTs can now serve as court documents… but they might also be unregistered securities, illegal loot boxes, or come with impossible tax demands. 

Nonfungible tokens (NFTs) are thought of by most people as just funny pictures that degens on the internet spend far too much money on for poorly understood reasons. But Jason Corbett, . . . → Read More: Crazy outcomes when current laws applied to NFTs and the metaverse

Hong Kong tech giant Meitu made headlines in April 2021 after it reported nearly $100 million in crypto holdings. However, with the onset of the bear market, the tech firm has lost nearly half of the valuation of its crypto holdings.

According to a local media report, Meitu reported an impairment loss of . . . → Read More: Tech giant Meitu loses over $43M of its crypto investment in bear market

As the date for the Ethereum Merge approaches, nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea has announced that it will focus on supporting only the NFTs that are on the upgraded proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain. 

In an announcement on Twitter, the NFT marketplace said that while their team is not speculating on any potential forks, as . . . → Read More: OpenSea says marketplace won’t support forked NFTs post-Merge

Ether (ETH) hodlers that don’t play their cards right following the Ethereum Merge may be in for a hefty bill come tax time, according to tax experts. 

Around Sept. 15, the Ethereum blockchain is set to transition from its current proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism to proof-of-stake (PoS), aimed at improving the network’s impact . . . → Read More: Ethereum Merge and the hefty tax bill you could be in for

The Golden State of California may be America’s most inquisitive state about Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), new data from CoinGecko has revealed. 

In a report shared by CoinGecko, internet users from California accounted for a whopping 43% of all Bitcoin and Ethereum web traffic searches on the crypto tracking website. This is despite . . . → Read More: CoinGecko reveals the US state most interested in Bitcoin and Ethereum

The Ethereum network will be able to withstand censorship risks both in the short and long term, according to Ethereum community member and investor Ryan Berckmans.

The ban of Ethereum-based privacy tool Tornado Cash by U.S. authorities earlier this month left many wondering whether Ethereum transactions could be also at risk of censorship, . . . → Read More: Will Ethereum 2.0 be vulnerable to censorship? Industry professional explains

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong believe that a gradual mind shift and important community contributions led to their backing of Ethereum’s upcoming move from a proof-of-work (PoW) to aproof-of-stake (PoS) consensus.

The two industry titans joined Coinbase protocol specialist Viktor Bunin on the Around the Block podcast for an . . . → Read More: Buterin and Armstrong reflect on proof-of-stake shift as Ethereum Merge nears

The Ethereum Merge is slated for Sept. 15, which will see the Ethereum blockchain move from its current proof-of-work (PoW) mining consensus to proof-of-stake (PoS).

The Merge is being touted as one of the biggest upgrades for the Ethereum blockchain as it would help the network move to a more energy-efficient way of verifying transactions and . . . → Read More: Ethereum miner balance reaches four-year high weeks before the Merge

Ethereum investment products increased by 2.36% to $6.81 billion in assets under management (AUM) throughout August, outperforming Bitcoin products which saw a 7.16% drop off to $17.4 billion. 

The figures were contained in a new report by CryptoCompare.

This was also reflected in the Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) product trading volumes, with . . . → Read More: ETH products grow in August as BTC products dip: CryptoCompare report

Ahead of the rapidly approaching Ethereum Merge on Sept. 15, Ethermine, the world’s largest Ether (ETH) mining pool has unveiled a new staking pool for users. Notably, however, it is not available to United States miners

The new service, offered via Bitfly, enables Ethermine members to collectively stake their ETH and earn interest . . . → Read More: Largest Ether mining pool Ethermine opens new ETH staking service

Ether (ETH) is the second largest crypto by market capitalization and the absolute leader in decentralized applications by deposits. Becoming a victim of its own success, the network experienced a fee hike in November 2021 when the average transaction costs surpassed $50. 

That’s precisely why the Merge is a critical step to implementing . . . → Read More: 3 reasons why Ethereum PoW hard fork tokens won’t gain traction

The Metaverse is quickly becoming one of the most important places for companies and individuals looking to expand their reach. New findings from research firm MarketsandMarkets predict that the Metaverse market size will grow from $61.8 billion in 2022 to $426.9 billion by 2027. 

In addition, a recent report from Juniper Research links nonfungible . . . → Read More: Organizations bring Africa, Costa Rica and Ukraine to the Metaverse to raise awareness

With the Ethereum Merge on the way, the risk research and analysis team Block Analitica proposed a temporary pause in Ether (ETH) borrowing to mitigate the risks that may lead to a decentralized finance (DeFi) implosion in the Aave lending protocol during the Merge. 

The team pointed out the potential issue of high . . . → Read More: Aave community proposes to temporarily suspend ETH lending before the Merge

Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution Arbitrum is set to undergo one of its most significant upgrades on Wednesday, set to increase transaction throughput, slash transaction fees and simplify cross-chain communication between Arbitrum and Ethereum.

Referred to as the “Nitro” upgrade, Arbitrum reconfirmed the date of the upgrade in a Twitter post on Aug. 29, . . . → Read More: Ethereum scaling network Arbitrum set for major upgrade on Aug. 31

Crypto advertising has been plastered across every available sporting surface since the bull run of 2021, from stadium naming deals and team’s playing kits to Formula One racing car liveries. But in the current bearish market conditions, it seems hard to calculate a return on the ubiquitous spending of 2021’s crazy big advertising. 

In . . . → Read More: Billions are spent marketing crypto to sports fans — Is it worth it?

Welcome to Finance Redefined, your weekly dose of essential decentralized finance (DeFi) insights — a newsletter crafted to bring you significant developments over the last week.

This past week, there were some major developments in the run-up to the upcoming Ethereum Merge slated for Sept. 15. Bitfinex became the latest crypto exchange to throw . . . → Read More: Hacker tries to exploit bridge protocol, fails miserably: Finance Redefined

Just when the Ethereum ecosystem reached its final stages in preparing for the much-anticipated upgrade, The Merge, german cloud provider Hetzner, reiterated its stance against allowing mining operations for both proof-of-stake (PoS) and proof-of-work (PoW) applications.

Hetzner, a private, centralized cloud provider, stepped in on a discussion around running blockchain nodes, highlighting its terms . . . → Read More: Hetzner anti-crypto policies: A wake-up call for Ethereum’s future

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has updated its information related to Ethereum transitioning to proof-of-stake to include forks that could arise.

In a Thursday update to an Aug. 16 blog post, Coinbase said it would evaluate any potential forks in the Ethereum blockchain on a “case by case basis.” The crypto exchange previously said it . . . → Read More: Coinbase says it will ‘evaluate any potential forks’ following the Merge

Cointelegraph’s Joseph Hall interviewed Bitcoin (BTC) advocates Pierre and Morgen Rochard, the hosts of the Bitcoin for Advisors podcast, at the Surfin’ Bitcoin 2022 event held in France. The group talked about how France can attract more miners, where Bitcoin fits in terms of financial planning and the difference between Bitcoin and other . . . → Read More: Cryptocurrencies copying Bitcoin don’t really make the cut, experts say

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance will suspend deposits and withdrawals of Ether (ETH) and ERC-20 tokens during the blockchain’s transition to its proof-of-stake (PoS) Beacon chain in September.

The world’s largest exchange by transaction volume announced the move in a bid to provide stability during The Merge, which is touted to take place in mid-September . . . → Read More: Binance to suspend ETH and ERC-20 deposits and withdrawals during Merge

Ethereum is a few weeks away from officially moving to a proof-of-stake (PoS) mining consensus from its current proof-of-work (PoW) one. The transition, officially dubbed the Merge, is slated for Sept. 15, but in the run-up to the major upgrade, Ethereum node centralization has become a hot topic.

As Cointelegraph reported last week, the . . . → Read More: Ethereum dev addresses node centralization concerns in runup to the Merge

The founder of decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Synthetix, Kain Warwick, has submitted a proposal that would turn off very high yield returns for SNX stakers and cap the total Synthetix (SNX) supply at 300 million. 

The Synthetix protocol allows traders to issue synthetic versions of crypto native assets, traditional financial assets, and commodities on . . . → Read More: Synthetix looks to turn off the SNX money printer once and for all

As we approach the date of Ethereum’s Merge, users have speculated about what it will mean for projects and the wider ecosystem. Some argue the Merge will have little impact on gas fees and believe transaction speeds might improve.

However, in general, most ordinary users will not notice much change. The real changes for . . . → Read More: Lower costs, higher speeds after Ethereum’s Merge? Don’t count on it

American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase aims to grow revenue from subscriptions in the long term to combat potential profit margin compression.

The firm’s founder and CEO Brian Armstrong delved into the long-term prospects of the American cryptocurrency exchange in a wide-ranging interview with CNBC’s Crypto World on Tuesday. A key talking point was the . . . → Read More: Coinbase eyes long-term growth of subscription revenue, NFTs still a focus

The Ethereum blockchain is slated for one of the most significant updates since its inception as it transitions from its current proof-of-work mining consensus to a proof-of-stake (PoS) one. 

The Merge date is scheduled for Sept. 15, after the successful Goerli testnet integration — the final testnet merger before the actual transition. Ether (ETH), Ethereum’s . . . → Read More: ETH whales move holdings onto exchanges before Merge

Graphics card giant Nvidia CFO Colette Kress says the company has been unable to estimate reduced crypto mining demand impacted its Q2 results, which fell short of analyst expectations on Wednesday. 

The chip giant released its financial results for the three months ended July 31, which revealed a 19% quarter-on-quarter drop in revenue . . . → Read More: Nvidia cites limited visibility into crypto mining’s impact on Q2 results

The $74 million plan by two former Uniswap Lab executives for a new Uniswap Foundation has just become reality after their proposal received over 99% of the votes from Uniswap (UNI) holders.

According to the initial proposal, the foundation aims to streamline Uniswap’s Grant Program (UPG) and reduce friction in the protocol’s governance . . . → Read More: It’s a go! Uniswap Foundation becomes reality after 86M votes in favor

Coinbase has launched a new asset in which Ether tokens are staked and wrapped through the crypto exchange.

In a Wednesday announcement, Coinbase said it will be listing Coinbase Wrapped Staked ETH (cbETH) on the Ethereum network as an ERC-20 token, allowing customers to use their staked Ether (ETH) while earning rewards on . . . → Read More: Coinbase introduces wrapped staked ETH asset ahead of the Merge

Since failing to close above the $2,000 mark, Ether (ETH) price has faced a steep 16.8% correction, but this was not enough to give bears an edge in the August $1.27 billion monthly options expiry.

Ether USD price index, 12-hour chart. Source: TradingView

Currently, there are mixed feelings about the network’s upcoming change to . . . → Read More: Monthly Ethereum options data suggests $2K will remain an elusive target

The Ethereum Foundation has announced it will be increasing the network’s bug bounty payouts fourfold ahead of the blockchain’s transition to proof-of-stake.

In a Wednesday blog post, the Ethereum Foundation said between Aug. 24 and Sept. 8, all “Merge-related bounties for vulnerabilities” will be quadrupled for white hats testing the network. According to the . . . → Read More: Bug bounty quadruples for Ethereum network — Up to $1M payouts ahead of Merge

While the upcoming ETH Merge is one of the most anticipated events in the crypto community at the moment, it’s not free from hiccups. However, Ethereum developers are quick to respond to the issues that arise.

Péter Szilágyi, an Ethereum software developer, has announced on Twitter that they have found a regression that . . . → Read More: Ethereum Merge in trouble? Developers find bugs ahead of the planned update

While other traders may be quick to take profits once they see gains, some are willing to hold on to their digital assets until they can pursue bigger goals, like a “mega yacht.” 

In a Twitter thread, Mintable founder Zach Burks shared how he found Web3 and went from being broke and jobless . . . → Read More: Hodl until mega yacht: Mintable founder shares crypto journey

Two prominent YouTube content creators are set to lock horns in a legal battle over a cryptocurrency video allegedly promoting a project that ended up being a scam.

Bitboy Crypto, a YouTube channel founded by Ben Armstrong, produces a variety of content focused on cryptocurrency news, projects and tokens and trading advice. The . . . → Read More: BitBoy Crypto sues fellow YouTuber Atozy for defamation over shilling claims

iFinex, the company responsible for Bitfinex Derivatives, announced on Tuesday the launch of a new service offering available to users before the highly-anticipated Ethereum Merge. The exchange now offers Ethereum Chain Split Tokens (CSTs).

Tokens available to users represent the two systems involved in the Merge: ETHW, which is proof-of-work (PoW) and ETHS, . . . → Read More: Bitfinex offers new chain split tokens ahead of Ethereum Merge

A major cryptocurrency selloff in June 2022 has sparked more interest in Bitcoin (BTC) from institutional investors, according to data from one of the biggest banks in Singapore.

The total number of trades on DDEx more than doubled in June 2022 as compared to April 2022 amid investors’ growing appetite for digital assets . . . → Read More: DBS bank reports 4x growth in Bitcoin buys on DDEx exchange in June

The Ethereum ecosystem continues to witness a flurry of activity that has individuals and organizations deploying token contracts, adding liquidity to pools and deploying smart contracts to support a wide range of business models. While notable, this growth has also been riddled with security exploits, leaving decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols vulnerable to hacks . . . → Read More: Ethereum advances with standards for smart contract security audits

Although there is still an apparent lack of women in the Web3 sector, blockchain-based games geared toward women may help drive inclusivity. A recent report from the Entertainment Software Association found that 48% of gamers in the United States identify as female. It has also been noted that nearly half of all gamers in . . . → Read More: Web3 games incorporate features to drive female participation

Taking payment in Ethereum brings in a gamut of advantages for both users and entrepreneurs.

Transitioning to a blockchain-based ecosystem brings in a string of advantages for users as well as entrepreneurs. Here is a drop-down detailing why accepting payment in Ethereum works well for the customers of an enterprise:

Additional . . . → Read More: Who accepts Ethereum as payment?

Welcome to Finance Redefined, your weekly dose of essential decentralized finance (DeFi) insights — a newsletter crafted to bring you significant developments over the last week.

This past week, Celsius’s financial troubles mounted further as a new coin report showed the company had a balance gap of $2.85 billion, more than double what . . . → Read More: Celsius Network coin report shows a balance gap of $2.85 billion: Finance Redefined

The Ethereum blockchain is all set to make its highly anticipated transition from its current proof-of-work (PoW) mining consensus to proof-of-stake (PoS). The Merge date is officially scheduled for Sept. 15–16 after the successful final Goerli testnet integration to the Beacon Chain on Aug. 11.

At present, miners can create new Ether (ETH) by . . . → Read More: Ethereum Merge prompts miners and mining pools to make a choice

Merkle trees are employed in Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies to more effectively and securely encrypt blockchain data. Verkle trees allow for smaller proof sizes, particularly important for Ethereum’s upcoming scaling upgrades.

But, how do you identify a Merkle tree? Leaf nodes, non-leaf nodes and the Merkle root are the three essential . . . → Read More: Merkle trees vs. Verkle trees, Explained

Cryptocurrency lending firm Hodlnaut has cut most of its workforce and has applied to be placed under judicial management due to bleak financial circumstances.

Hodlnaut, which offers interest-bearing cryptocurrency investment options in vetted institutions, confirmed the dire state of affairs on Friday. The company’s poor financial position has been put down to losses . . . → Read More: Hodlnaut cuts 80% of staff, applies for Singapore judicial management

Ksenia Malik, the wife of Tornado Cash creator Alexey Pertsev, has lashed out at Dutch authorities for treating her husband like a “dangerous criminal” following his arrest last week.

The Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD)  arrested Pertsev on Aug. 12 over an alleged use of the Ethereum-based privacy tool to . . . → Read More: Wife of arrested Tornado Cash dev forbidden to speak with him — Rally organized

In light of the recent ban on crypto mixing tool Tornado Cash and the subsequent arrest of the Tornado Cash developer, there has been a growing debate over whether crypto services providers would choose decentralization or censorship as  form of compliance.

The question has become more prominent as Ethereum is moving from its . . . → Read More: Coinbase would rather shut down staking than enable on-chain censorship — Brian Armstrong

In a discussion that started around two Ontario crypto exchanges’ recent 30,000-Canadian-dollar limit on altcoins purchases — which excluded Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) — Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin took a dig at XRP, which Ripple chief technology officer David Schwartz didn’t take very kindly.

Buterin, in a response to a tweet, lauded the . . . → Read More: Ripple CTO lashes back at Vitalik Buterin for his dig at XRP

The majority of 4,653 active Ethereum nodes are in the hands of centralized web providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS), which could “expose Ethereum to central points of failure,” according to crypto analytics platform Messari.

A Monday post shows that three major cloud providers account for 69% of hosted nodes on the Ethereum Mainnet, with . . . → Read More: 3 cloud providers accounting for over two-thirds of Ethereum nodes: Data

The Ethereum network’s long-awaited transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake is set to occur from Sept 15 to 16 and for the last year, traders and analysts have been discussing various outcomes for the upgrade and possible trading strategies. 

Let’s take a look at three options investors and traders have.

Hodl ETH to . . . → Read More: 3 strategies investors might use to trade the upcoming Ethereum Merge

As the Ethereum Merge draws near, many are speculating on its economic effects. To provide a clearer view to those who anticipate the major upgrade, Lex Sokolin, the head economist at ConsenSys, shared his insights in an interview with Cointelegraph. 

The expert discussed the effect of the Merge on users, developers and businesses. . . . → Read More: Economic design changes will affect ETH’s value post-Merge, says ConsenSys exec

According to a new clarification by the Ethereum Foundation on Wednesday, the network’s upcoming proof-of-stake transitory upgrade — dubbed the “Merge,” — will not reduce gas fees. Regarding this, the Ethereum Foundation wrote: 

“Gas fees are a product of network demand relative to the network’s capacity. The Merge deprecates the use of proof-of-work, . . . → Read More: Ethereum Foundation clarifies that the upcoming Merge upgrade will not reduce gas fees

Ethereum is all set to transition to a proof-of-stake (PoS) network by Sept. 15 to 16, which will see the end of its current proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechani and eliminate mining from the ecosystem.

In light of such a significant upgrade, Ethereum’s PoW proponents, especially its miners, have decided to keep the PoW chain . . . → Read More: EthereumPoW team plans to freeze selected contracts, community pushes back

Aave (AAVE) tokenholders have been asked to take part in an Aave Request for Comment (ARC) that would require them to ”commit” to Ethereum’s proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus.

The ARC, proposed on Tuesday, comes in light of Ethereum’s upcoming transition to proof-of-stake. It calls for members to select the Ethereum mainnet running under PoS consensus . . . → Read More: Aave calls on members to commit to Ethereum PoS chain

The market capitalization of Tether (USDT) tokens has increased by nearly $2 billion since the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash.

The Office of Foreign Asset Control essentially barred Americans from using Tornado Cash on Aug. 8, blacklisting 44 USD Coin (USDC) and Ether (ETH) addresses connected to the . . . → Read More: USDT market cap up by $2 billion following Tornado Cash debacle

Ether (ETH) rejected the $2,000 resistance on Aug. 14, but the solid 82.8% gain since the rising wedge formation started on July 13 certainly seems like a victory for bulls. Undoubtedly, the “ultrasound money” dream gets closer as the network expects the Merge transaction to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus network on Sept. 16. 

Ether . . . → Read More: Traders flinch after Ethereum price rejects at $2,000

Following the United States sanctioning USD Coin (USDC) and Ethereum addresses associated with the crypto mixer Tornado Cash, the signatories of the projects’ multisignature community fund havedisbanded. 

In 2021, the Tornado Cash community created a fund to provide incentives to key contributors to the project. The fund was held in a community-managed multisignature wallet . . . → Read More: Tornado Cash community fund multisignature wallet disbands amid sanctions

An Ethereum whale wallet that participated in the genesis initial coin offering (ICO) and obtained about 150,000 Ether (ETH) in 2014 was activated again on Aug. 14 after three years of dormancy.

The whale address transferred 145,000 ETH to multiple wallets as the price of Ether surged to a new three-month high of over $2,000. The . . . → Read More: Ethereum ICO-era whale address transfers 145,000 ETH weeks before the Merge

Clamping down on crypto applications that “mess with the primal forces of regulation” is necessary, says Shark Tank host and millionaire venture capitalist Kevin O’Leary, who argued that Tornado Cash and similar services are preventing real institutional capital from coming into the space.

In a discussion on Crypto Banter on Saturday, O’Leary, also . . . → Read More: Kevin O’Leary says sacrificing Tornado Cash worth it for institutional adoption

The excitement around Ethereum’s (ETH) upcoming upgrade, The Merge, which involves the merger of two blockchains — Mainnet Ethereum and Beacon Chain — has unknowingly spurred rumors across the community.

Termed the most significant upgrade in the history of Ethereum, The Merge does indeed mark the end of proof-of-work (PoW) for the . . . → Read More: The Merge: Top 5 misconceptions about the anticipated Ethereum upgrade

Authorities in the Netherlands have arrested a developer suspected to be involved in money laundering through the crypto mixing service Tornado Cash.

The Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD), an agency in the Netherlands responsible for investigating financial crimes, officially announced the arrest of a 29-year-old man in Amsterdam on Friday.

The man has . . . → Read More: Dutch authorities arrest suspected Tornado Cash developer

After years of waiting, Ethereum is finally prepared to become a full-fledged proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain. Besides Ethereum’s native token, Ether (ETH), the valuation of several other tokens has not only benefited greatly but could also keep outperforming ETH after the Merge. 

Ethereum steps closer toward the Merge

The leading smart contract platform completed the last . . . → Read More: 3 cryptocurrencies that stand to outperform ETH price thanks to Ethereum’s Merge

The Ethereum Merge may be coming sooner than planned, after core developers announced a tentative Merge date of Sept. 15, which will see the blockchain transition to proof-of-stake (PoS).

The Ethereum mainnet Merge date came into view after core developers such as Tim Beiko and Prysmatic Labs co-founder Terence Tsao agreed in a . . . → Read More: Coming sooner: ETH devs move up the date for Merge

Ether’s (ETH) impressive 85% gain in the past 30 days has surprised even the most bullish investors, and it makes the $800 range seen in mid-July seem like ages ago. Bulls now hope to turn $1,900 to support, but derivatives metrics tell a completely different story, and the data suggests that professional traders remain . . . → Read More: Is it foolish to expect a massive Ethereum price surge pre- and post-Merge?

The Goerli testnet was successfully merged to the proof-of-stake (PoS) network, marking the final step before Ethereum’s mainnet transition. The triumphant final testnet merger means the mainnet transition slated for Sept. 19 could go as scheduled.

Goerli is the third and final testnet after Ropsten and Sepolia that makes Ethereum’s final rehearsal before its . . . → Read More: Ethereum whale transactions peak at 2-month high amid Goerli testnet merger

Ethereum’s native asset, Ether (ETH), has more than doubled in value since bottoming out at around $885 in June 2022. Now, it eyes a decisive move toward $2,500 in August per a slew of technical and fundamental indicators.

Ethereum chain split means more tokens

A big part of Ether’s ongoing rally has appeared due . . . → Read More: 3 signs Ethereum price is on track toward $2.5K by September

After Ropsten and Sepolia, Goerli was the last remaining testnet scheduled to undergo the Merge, officially becoming a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain as of 1:45 am UTC, Aug. 11.

The Goerli testnet merge has been finalized without any major issues today, suggesting that there will be no delays to the tentative Ethereum Merge . . . → Read More: Ethereum Merge on track as Goerli test merge successfully finalized

The number of decentralized applications (DApps) on Ethereum-scaling-platform Polygon has topped 37,000, marking a 400% increase since the start of 2022.

The Polygon team shared the figures via a Wednesday blog post, which was sourced from partnered Web3 development platform Alchemy, noting that the figure represents the cumulative number of applications ever . . . → Read More: Decentralized apps on Polygon hit 37,000, rocketing 400% this year

In this week’s newsletter, read about Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s proposal for stealth nonfungible token (NFT) ownership. Check out how a CryptoPunk will be split into thousands of pieces to enable smaller investors to access it, and how the NFT play-to-earn game Axie Infinity plans to double down on South Korea despite regulatory . . . → Read More: CryptoPunk to be split into pieces: Nifty Newsletter, Aug 3–9

According to data from DefiLlama, total value locked (TVL) on Optimism, a layer-2 scaling solution for the Ethereum blockchain, has surged 284% in the past month. The vast majority of TVL consists of users lending and borrowing assets on Aave through Optimism’s layer-2 chain.

Investors have been bidding up digital assets related to . . . → Read More: Optimism TVL surges nearly 300% M/M ahead of The Merge upgrade

Decentralized finance protocols continue to be targeted by hackers, with Curve Finance becoming the latest platform to be compromised after a domain name system (DNS) hijacking incident.

The automated market maker warned users not to use the front end of its website on Tuesday after the incident was flagged online by a number . . . → Read More: Curve Finance exploit: Experts dissect what went wrong

Hot on the heels of an official announcement from USD Coin (USDC) issuer Circle Pay, stablecoin giant Tether has now also officially confirmed its support behind Ethereum’s upcoming Merge upgrade and switch to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism-based blockchain.

The announcement came on the same day as its stablecoin competitor, who pledged . . . → Read More: Tether also confirms its throwing weight behind the post-Merge Ethereum

On Aug 9, automated market maker Curve Finance took to Twitter to warn users of an ongoing exploit on its site. The team behind the protocol noted that the issue, which appears to be an attack from a malicious actor, was affecting the service’s nameserver and frontend.

Don’t use https://t.co/vOeMYOTq0l site . . . → Read More: BREAKING: Curve Finance team warns users to avoid using site until further notice

The aggregate total value locked (TVL) in the crypto market measures the amount of funds deposited in smart contracts and this figure declined from $160 billion in mid-April to the current $70 billion, which is the lowest level since March 2021. While this 66% contraction is worrying, a great deal of data suggests that . . . → Read More: Total value locked in DeFi dropped by 66%, but multiple metrics reflect steady growth