Ethereum Holders Begin Moving ETH Crypto to Exchanges Ahead of Merge

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  • Ethereum (ETH-USD) whales are moving crypto to exchanges ahead of the Merge upgrade.
  • As many debate what the ETH crypto’s price action will look like on upgrade day, these holders are opting to sell the news.
  • The Merge is slated for Sept. 15.
Ethereum - Ethereum Holders Begin Moving ETH Crypto to Exchanges Ahead of Merge

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Ethereum’s (ETH-USD) Merge upgrade is a long time coming. And if it weren’t for the many delays it has faced, the world might not be paying such close attention to its unfolding. It seems that September will finally bring the long-awaited Beacon Chain to the public. Crypto whales are thinking similarly, too. This week, we are seeing the largest holders of Ethereum getting ready for some positive price action as the Merge upgrade executes — for real this time.

A grand total of six delays have kept the Merge from finally rolling out. The last of these came in late June. With this delay, developers gave the upgrade an estimated August release date. Of course, as August rolls along, that won’t be the case. However, things are still going mostly smoothly. In early August, developers launched the final upgrade to the test network. Dubbed the Goerli upgrade, this test signals the go-ahead for a main network upgrade.

This week, investors received news that the Merge will get its final date set very soon. The Bellatrix upgrade on Sept. 6 will start the final countdown for when the Beacon Chain will combine with the actual Ethereum network. As of right now, the upgrade is expected to execute on Sept. 15.

The Merge will bring about the biggest upgrade to Ethereum since 2017’s hard fork. And it is easily the most hotly anticipated upgrade ever. Given the expansion of crypto into the mainstream, a lot of eyes are on this upgrade. That’s making a lot of big ETH crypto holders very excited.

Ethereum Whales Moving ETH Crypto to Exchanges Ahead of Merge

As the Ethereum upgrade inches closer and closer, investors are squabbling over price action. Are ETH crypto prices going to skyrocket? Is it going to lead to Ethereum’s “flippening” with Bitcoin (BTC-USD)? Or are they going to stay indifferent, given that the Merge has been a very long time coming?

Some experts do believe that the ETH crypto is priced in ahead of the Merge. They are calling the Merge a “sell the news” event, with the expectation that prices may even go down after the upgrade is completed. Others still think that while ETH may not skyrocket right off the bat, it will see a solid climb upward on its bolstered fundamental value and increasing usability.

Perhaps it’s best to look at what the whales are doing. After all, these are the holders investing the most money in the project.

Crypto firm Santiment is observing whale behavior ahead of the upgrade, and it notices one major trend. Many of the largest Ethereum-holding wallets are moving their funds to exchanges. The top 10 largest non-exchange wallets have seen an 11% reduction in holdings over the last three months. They are moving these assets to exchanges. Indeed, exchange wallets have seen a 78% increase in ETH holdings over the same period.

Indeed, it seems as though these whales are not anticipating any sort of rally come Sept. 15. In keeping with some of the less-enthusiastic analyses, these holders are selling the news. As Coin Telegraph points out, the Merge is also not an all-at-once event. The Sept. 15 upgrade will change the network from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake. But, reductions in gas fees and transaction times won’t come until months later — at least.

On the date of publication, Brenden Rearick did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2022/08/ethereum-holders-begin-moving-eth-crypto-to-exchanges-ahead-of-merge/.

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