Decentral Block Post

The excitement around Ethereum’s (ETH) upcoming upgrade, The Merge, which involves the merger of two blockchains — Mainnet Ethereum and Beacon Chain — has unknowingly spurred rumors across the community.

Termed the most significant upgrade in the history of Ethereum, The Merge does indeed mark the end of proof-of-work (PoW) for the Ethereum blockchain. However, here are five misconceptions that stand out among the rest.

Misconception 1: Ethereum gas fees will reduce after The Merge

Ethereum’s impending upgrade will reduce Ethereum’s infamous gas fees (transaction fees) is one of the biggest misconceptions circulating among investors. While reduced gas fees tops every investor’s wishlist, The Merge is a change of consensus mechanism that will transition the Ethereum blockchain from PoW to proof-of-stake (PoS).

Instead, lowering gas fees in Ethereum will require working on expanding the network capacity and throughput. The developer community is currently working on a rollup-centric roadmap to make transactions cheaper.

Bitcoin (BTC) is still due to return to near $20,000, fresh analysis warns as BTC/USD attempts to retest multi-month highs. 

Buy-the-dip set for invalidation at $20,700

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD staging a second run-up to near $25,000 on Aug. 13, so far seeing rejection.

The pair had gained over $1,300 overnight, but as bulls again ran out of momentum near crucial resistance, few were optimistic over Bitcoin avoiding a deeper comedown.

"One last high to rekt early shorts," popular trading account Il Capo of Crypto told Twitter followers.

Similarly cautious was fellow trader Jibon, who said that he would even prefer to wait and "buy higher" than spot price to rule out any trend reversals.

Bitcoin (BTC) is still due to return to near $20,000, fresh analysis warns as BTC/USD attempts to retest multi-month highs. 

Buy-the-dip set for invalidation at $20,700

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD staging a second run-up to near $25,000 on Aug. 13, so far seeing rejection.

The pair had gained over $1,300 overnight, but as bulls again ran out of momentum near crucial resistance, few were optimistic over Bitcoin avoiding a deeper comedown.

"One last high to rekt early shorts," popular trading account Il Capo of Crypto told Twitter followers.

Similarly cautious was fellow trader Jibon, who said that he would even prefer to wait and "buy higher" than spot price to rule out any trend reversals.

Bitcoin (BTC) could not overcome the barrier at $25,000 on Aug. 11 even though it had two catalysts in the form of a "favorable" Consumer Price Index print and news that BlackRock — the world's largest asset manager, overseeing over $10 trillion in total assets — had launched a spot Bitcoin investment product. 

In comparison, Ether (ETH) has managed to hold on to its recent gains on news that the Goerli testnet had successfully activated proof-of-stake, clearing the path for Ethereum’s mainnet transition planned for Sept. 15 or Sept. 16. Data from Santiment shows that Ether whale transactions have increased along with possible whale accumulation.

However, analysts remain divided about the prospects of the current recovery. While some believe that Bitcoin’s rally could rise above $28,000, others are not so bullish and they expect the price to turn down and resume the downtrend.

Could buyers clear the overhead hurdle in Bitcoin and select altcoins? Let’s study the charts of the top-10 cryptocurrencies to find out.

BTC/USDT

Bitcoin nudged above the overhead resistance at $24,668 on Aug. 11 but the bulls could not sustain the higher levels. This indicates that bears have not yet given up and are selling on rallies.

An ascending triangle formation has driven the total crypto market capitalization toward the $1.2 trillion level. The issue with this 7-week-long setup is the diminishing volatility, which could last until late August. From there, the pattern can break either way, but Tether and futures markets data show bulls lacking enough conviction to catalyze an upside break.

Investors cautiously await further macroeconomic data on the state of the economy as the United States Federal Reserve (FED) raises interest rates and places its asset purchase program on hold. On Aug. 12, the United Kingdom posted a gross domestic product (GDP) contraction of 0.1% year-over-year. Meanwhile, inflation in the UK reached 9.4% in July, the highest figure seen in 40 years.

The Chinese property market has caused the Fitch Ratings credit agency to issue a “special report” on Aug. 7 to quantify the impact of prolonged distress on a potentially weaker economy in China. Analysts expect asset management and smaller construction and steel-producing companies to suffer the most.

In short, risk asset investors are anxiously waiting for the Federal Reserve and Central Banks across the world to signal that the policy of tightening is coming to an end. On the other hand, expansionary policies are more favorable for scarce assets, including cryptocurrencies.

Sentiment improves to neutral after 4 months

The risk-off attitude caused by increased interest rates has instilled a bearish sentiment into cryptocurrency investors since mid-April. As a result, traders have been unwilling to allocate to volatile assets and sought shelter in U.S. Treasuries, even though their returns do not compensate for inflation.

An ascending triangle formation has driven the total crypto market capitalization toward the $1.2 trillion level. The issue with this seven-week-long setup is the diminishing volatility, which could last until late August. From there, the pattern can break either way, but Tether and futures markets data show bulls lacking enough conviction to catalyze an upside break.

Investors cautiously await further macroeconomic data on the state of the economy as the United States Federal Reserve (FED) raises interest rates and places its asset purchase program on hold. On Aug. 12, the United Kingdom posted a gross domestic product (GDP) contraction of 0.1% year-over-year. Meanwhile, inflation in the U.K. reached 9.4% in July, the highest figure seen in 40 years.

The Chinese property market has caused the Fitch Ratings credit agency to issue a “special report” on Aug. 7 to quantify the impact of prolonged distress on a potentially weaker economy in China. Analysts expect asset management and smaller construction and steel-producing companies to suffer the most.

In short, risk asset investors are anxiously waiting for the Federal Reserve and Central Banks across the world to signal that the policy of tightening is coming to an end. On the other hand, expansionary policies are more favorable for scarce assets, including cryptocurrencies.

Sentiment improves to neutral after 4 months

The risk-off attitude caused by increased interest rates has instilled a bearish sentiment into cryptocurrency investors since mid-April. As a result, traders have been unwilling to allocate to volatile assets and sought shelter in U.S. Treasuries, even though their returns do not compensate for inflation.