Ethereum Classic is up over 50% in a week as ETH Merge upgrade nears

Besides receiving a boost from the general cryptocurrency market rally, Ethereum Classic (ETC) is recording significant gains partly powered by network activity on the main Ethereum blockchain, specifically the Merge upgrade slated for September. Indeed, the factor appears to be driving the ETH price alongside pushing for an ETC price breakout. 

The presence of ETC bulls has been felt in the last seven days, during which Ethereum Classic’s price has delivered strong upward momentum marking an end to weeks of trading in a consolidation phase. 

Consequently, Ethereum Classic, the inheritor of the original Ethereum blockchain, has gained 51.34% in the last seven days, trading at $22.51 by press time, according to CoinMarketCap data. 

Whatsmore, ETC ranks third among best-performing cryptocurrencies in the last seven days behind Lido DAO (151.03%) and Polygon (58.73%). 

Impact of the Merge on ETC price 

The Merge upgrade will likely benefit assets like ETC since it will see Ethereum shift from the energy-intensive proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism to the proof-of-stake (PoS) protocol. Therefore, ETC has the potential to accommodate migrating Ethereum miners since they will need minor upgrades to start mining on Ethereum Classic. 

As the Merge nears, the migrating ETH miners will likely trigger a rally in Ethereum Classic price. A majority expect the current hash rate dedicated to Ethereum will also transition over to the ETC network after the upgrade as the easiest choice for migrating miners since it prevents their equipment from becoming useless. 

Following the gains, the main focus will be whether ETC can sustain the momentum. The sustainability will likely stand if more inventors continue buying ETC. However, investors should also watch out for strong selling pressure that might trigger a significant pullback.

Likewise, the news about the Merge update appears to impact the value of Ethereum, which has also rallied in the past week.

Disclaimer: The content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing, your capital is at risk.