Ethereum is currently trading above $1,700 after rising 15% on Thursday as network prepares for The Merge.
The native Ethereum token Ether pushed past the $1700 price threshold on Thursday amid a general crypto market upswing.
Ether was up 6.3% on Thursday afternoon and is currently changing hands at $1,720.89. The versatile digital currency hit a record high of approximately $4,800 last November but began the new year inauspiciously. Amid the recent general decline in broader digital assets, Ether has managed to rise 57% in the last two weeks. Additionally, by late Thursday, the crypto had risen 15% in the past 24 hours and 44% in the past month.
Other Developing Factors Around Ethereum $1700 Run
The recent Ethereum price surge also comes on the heels of the latest interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve. However, analysts also predict that if other macroeconomic conditions do not improve, ETH’s current rise may not last long. Furthermore, analysts also explain that new money has to come rushing into the market as bulls might expect to support the price run.
The prices of cryptocurrencies, in general, jumped to 4.2% yesterday, even seeing the overall market cap rise to $1.08 trillion at one point. For instance, the largest crypto by market cap Bitcoin (BTC), spiked 4.3% and temporarily surpassed $24,000. However, as of press time, BTC is changing hands at a little under $24K.
The Lido DAO token also benefited from the recent rise in the prices of crypto assets. At some point, the yield-bearing staking protocol was up by approximately 24.5%.
Upcoming Ethereum Goerli Testnet Merger
The latest Ethereum price development comes amid an update in the plans for the Goerli testnet merger. The network’s developers announced that the merger will happen in early August, starting with Bellatrix, the Prater upgrade “readying it for The Merge.” As the announcement read:
“For the last testnet proof-of-stake transition, Goerli will merge with Prater. The combined Goerli/Prater network will retain the Goerli name post-merge. Bellatrix, the Prater upgrade readying it for The Merge will happen at epoch 112260, expected at 12:24PM UTC on August 4, 2022.”
“After Bellatrix is activated, the Goerli/Prater merge will happen when Goerli hits a total difficulty of 10790000, expected between August 6-12, 2022,” said the developers.
The Goerli testnet merger blog post message concluded with:
“After Bellatrix is activated, the Goerli/Prater merge will happen when Goerli hits a total difficulty of 10790000, expected between August 6-12, 2022.”
Via the beacon chain merger, the Ethereum test network Goerli will be able to offer some added features. These include support for proof-of-stake ahead of a mainnet merger expected to take place towards the end of the year.
Mergers like the Goerli one typically act as final tests for the eventual mainnet merger that takes place later. For instance, in early July, Ethereum developers activated the merge on Sepolia testnet with a view toward a mainnet upgrade.
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