Ethereum’s [ETH] transition to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus has been the most-talked-about topic in the crypto industry.
The craze around Merge can be compared to that of the craze around Bitcoin’s [BTC] whitepaper release. Amidst the hype, speculations, and narratives around ETH, it is important to consider one aspect- Are participating clients or partners ready for the showdown?
Countdown begins
Ethereum clients and developers prepared for the successful implementation of the Merge or rather aimed to become ‘Merge’ ready. As per the latest count, ~88% of Ethereum clients are ready for Ethereum Mainnet (execution layer) to combine with the Beacon Chain (consensus layer).
According to EtherNodes, 88.5% of the current execution layer clients “are ready” for the Ethereum PoS Merge. But 11.5% have not yet upgraded to the latest version that supported the Merge.
Herein, most of the “Not-Ready” nodes represented the Geth client (12%), who have yet to upgrade to Geth v1.10.23 or higher.
Source: Ethernodes.org
Other Ethereum clients with node operators that require updating included Erigon, Besu, and Nethermind. Overall, Geth is 88% ready to Merge, Erigon 92%, Besu 99%, and Nethermind 91%.
Needless to say, as the countdown began- more and more clients sought to complete pending tasks for a smooth transition. Meanwhile, the hype around Ethereum continues to see new heights.
All hail the Merge
Well, that’s, indeed, what benefactors did apart from counting the lucky stars. For instance, consider Ethereum Classic [ETC].
ETC’s hash rate grew substantially in the last three months. This was an expected outcome as Ethereum [ETH] shifts to Proof of Stake (PoS). Hence, many miners have opted to shift to ETC mining.
According to 2Miners, the current hashrate of the entire ETC network rose to 89.11 TH/s, setting historical records. The hashrate went up 264% in the two months from 15 July followed by a 24-hour increase of 7.4% in ETC’s price.
Source: 2Miners
ETC holders would benefit from an inflow of more demand and network utility. The increased hash rate and potential for more utility may promote price speculation, thus leading to surged retail demand.
Inner meaning here
Moving on to ETH, the coin did see some concerning insight. For instance, Ethereum hourly inflows to exchanges witnessed a massive spike right before the Merge.
CryptoQuant’s graph highlighted this unprecedented rise in inflows. This means that holders sent to a centralized exchange to potentially short the token. The price, however, might see a significant decline as a consequence of the influx of new funds into trading platforms
Source: CryptoQuant
At the same time, the Ethereum funding rate too dipped to an extreme zone. The short position traders dominated and were willing to pay long traders.
While this might sound bearish to some, a buying opportunity could be in place as well given the short-squeeze motion.