Ether has gained roughly 50% since mid-June, and Ethereum-related assets have also advanced. Uniswap, a decentralized crypto exchange that’s most popular on Ethereum, has jumped about 70% over the past month, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
The flippening “is very possible,” said Bodhi Pinkner, an analyst at crypto asset manager Arca. “We have a favorable view of Ethereum,” he said, adding that it will, following the Merge, become a deflationary asset. To be sure, this is not a new development. Crypto crowds have long looked for signs that Bitcoin’s dominance could diminish as other projects and tokens emerge.
“The Merge itself is an extremely risky event and any number of things can go wrong,” Quantum’s Greenspan said. “As always in the markets, higher risk can equate to higher returns. And they don’t call it risk because it’s fluffy and safe.”“The Merge is over-hyped from an ETH price-perspective,” he said. “It’s an incredibly important technological change for Ethereum, but 99.99% of users will experience no difference whatsoever until months or years later.