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An Ethereum fork token that does not yet exist, dubbed ETHW, is trading under $100 across several crypto exchanges after debuting at $30. 

ETHW and ETHS begin trading 

ETHW is the native asset to the ETHPoW chain. ETHPoW, for now, is a possible new chain backed by proof-of-work (PoW) miners as the original chain switches to proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus in September's "Merge" event.

Meanwhile, the proof-of-stake version ETHS is trading at around $1,600, or the difference between the ETH price and the ETHW price. 

As a result of this potential chain split, anyone holding a certain number of the original chain's Ether (ETH), will automatically receive an equal amount of ETHW tokens. Such speculations have prompted some exchanges to list ETHW for trading in advance.

For instance, Poloniex announced support for both ETHW, as well as ETHS, the PoS chain token, listed for trading against Ether.

Bitcoin (BTC) consolidated lower on Aug. 9 after familiar resistance preserved a multi-month trading range.

Bitcoin navigates whale price ladder

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD falling under the $24,000 mark overnight after rejecting near $24,200. 

The pair had seen swift gains to start the week but momentum faded as the top of the trading range in place since mid-June came closer.

As such, bulls failed to reclaim new ground or even match the highs seen at the end of July, and the status quo thus continued. At the time of writing, BTC/USD was consolidating near $23,800.

For on-chain analytics resource Whalemap, it was realized price that was now forming major levels to overcome.

Institutional investors are piling into Ether- (ETH)-based digital asset funds, which have recorded seven straight weeks of positive inflows, according to the latest CoinShares report. 

Said inflows reached $16.3 million last week, adding to a total of $159 million in inflows over the last seven weeks.

CoinShares Head of Research James Butterfill on Monday said the rise in market sentiment for Ethereum-focused products is largely due to “greater clarity” relating to the upcoming Merge, which is set for Sep. 19, with Butterfill stating: 

“We believe this turn-around in investor sentiment is due to greater clarity on the timing of The Merge where Ethereum shifts from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake.”

The Merge will see the Ethereum mainnet merge with the Ethereum 2.0 Beacon Chain, which will complete the transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. The PoS consensus mechanism is expected to make Ethereum more secure, energy efficient and environmentally friendly.

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy has watched his investment in SafeMoon (SAFEMOON) crash by over 94%, proving to crypto enthusiasts that he is, in fact, capable of hodling during the bear market. 

The stock trader and media personality took to Twitter Monday to lament his $40,000 investment in the meme coin, which has fallen to just $2,370.94 after he didn’t withdraw a single token. “Still holding by the way,” Portnoy said. “Diamond hands.”

Portnoy claimed that he’s also being sued by SafeMoon, possibly for “trashing” the project on his show, but didn’t elaborate much further. In a separate tweet, Portnoy shared a screenshot of SafeMoon’s sales manager expressing displeasure with the Barstool frontman for giving the company “a bad look and unfair representation.” Portnoy “mentioned his SafeMoon losses on air but failed to mention he hasn’t upgraded his holdings to V2 yet,” the manager complained.

Portnoy is no stranger to cryptocurrencies, having bought Bitcoin (BTC) in August 2020 only to sell it one week later due to volatility. He later expressed regret over his lack of conviction and went on to make several additional bets on cryptos, which included SafeMoon.

Related: Dogecoin founder speaks out against ‘meme coins’