Ethereum Gains Outpace Bitcoin, Dogecoin: Could Merger Really Be ‘Big Tailwind’ For ETH?

Bitcoin regained the $20,000 mark, while Ethereum traded above $1,500 on Monday evening as the global cryptocurrency market cap rose 4.2% to $985.55 billion.

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The two largest cryptocurrencies were in the green at press time after surviving a day in which risky assets such as stocks fell. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended Monday down by 0.7% and 1% respectively. At press time, share futures rose somewhat.

“Bitcoin is showing some resilience here as it has bounced back above the $20,000 level, despite widespread weakness in the stock market. Cryptocurrency traders are not used to seeing Bitcoin endure a rout on Wall Street, so this could be a promising sign,” said OANDA senior market analyst Edward Moyain a memo, seen by Benzinga.

Michael van de Poppe noted that Ethereum showed strength on Monday. The cryptocurrency expects “a few days of consolidation” for the second largest coin. Van de Poppe sees crucial ETH resistance at $1,650 and a potential move up to the $2,200 mark.

– #Ethereum showing strength today. #Bitcoin has seen a small bounce, which resulted in a 3.50% bounce on $ETH / $BTC couple.

The scenario still stands and can fulfill;

– Few days of consolidation.
– Decisive resistance at $1650.

Potentially $2,200. pic.twitter.com/s0o63755GE

— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) 29 August 2022

Justin Bennett reminded his followers on Twitter that altcoins fell over 90% in the last bear market.

And to everyone who says altcoins won’t pull back that far…

They have already done that once.

Alts retreated over 90% during the last bear market. So to think they will stop at -74% this time with rampant inflation, a global recession, etc. is naive, IMO.

— Justin Bennett (@JustinBennettFX) 29 August 2022

“So to think they will stop at -74% this time with raging inflation, a global recession etc is naive,” the trader said.

Glass node said in a weekly blog that Bitcoin user base performance is “weak at best.” Investor psychology appears to be dominated by “get my money back” sentiment and a “large amount of spending taking place at and around cost basis.”

Bitcoin, net realized profit/loss in dollars — courtesy of Glassnode

The on-chain research firm said Bitcoin investors are realizing aggregate net losses of $220 million a day. Although this number is “modest in magnitude,” this amount of capital outflows suggests that “bulls are fighting an uphill battle.”

Ethereum, which rallied against the broader cryptocurrency market between June and early August on merger expectations, has stalled, said Kaiko Research in a note.

The ETH-BTC ratio rose from 0.05 to 0.08 in the period, but after sanctions of Tornado Cash and related questions about how Ethereum’s transition to proof-of-stake will be affected, the coin’s upward movement has “slowed considerably” and the relationship reversed.

Ethereum to Bitcoin ratio — courtesy of Glassnode

“In the long term, the upcoming merger should be a big tailwind for ether as it is expected to reduce the issued supply, improve energy efficiency and lay the foundation for more scalability in the future,” Kaiko said.

Still, another potential concern for investors is Ethereum’s network growth. Chartist Ali Martinez tweeted that growth has not been this low in more than two years. Martinez said the last time the number of new ETH addresses was 49,700 was in March 2020.

#Ethereum network growth has not been this low for more than two years. Last time # of daily new $ETH the addresses were 49,700 were back in March 2020.

A steady decline in the number of new addresses created on #ETH blockchain tends to lead to a steep price correction over time. pic.twitter.com/u1zdwbbyH8

— Ali Martinez (@ali_charts) 29 August 2022

“A steady decline in [number] of new addresses created on [ETH] blockchain tends to lead to a steep price correction over time,” he tweeted.

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