The biggest news in the cryptoverse for Sept. 15 includes ETH falling below $1,500 as over $150M is liquidated, the first post-merge NFT “The Transition” minting for $60,000, Charles Hoskinson saying that Ethereum’s Merge changes nothing.
CryptoSlate Top Stories
Ethereum switches to PoS after successfully completing the Merge
Arguably the biggest moment in the history of the Ethereum ecosystem transpired on Sept. 15 as Ethereum migrated to a proof-of-stake network at 06:43 UTC.
In celebration, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin tweeted to thank everyone who made the Merge happen.
And we finalized!
Happy merge all. This is a big moment for the Ethereum ecosystem. Everyone who helped make the merge happen should feel very proud today.
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) September 15, 2022
The Merge is expected to reduce Ethereum’s power consumption by 99%.
Ethereum Watch Party 🥳 – All Day Livestream 📺 with Special Guests 🌟 & ETH Giveaways 🎁
CryptoSlate live-streamed the lead-up to The Merge on Twitch, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter, as well as web3 platforms Theta.tv and Lens Protocol. The show included guests from across the crypto ecosystem, including Polygon, Metamask, CoinBureau, Quantum Economics, Polkastarter, and many more in the 13-hour stream.
First post-Merge Ethereum NFT minted for $60K
Following the success of the merge, a user made history by spending 36 ETH (approximately $60,000) to mint the first NFT on the proof-of-stake (PoS) network. The high cost was a result of the user choosing to pay gas fees far beyond the average to ensure the transaction went through in the first block.
To commemorate the merge, the Panda-faced NFT was tagged “The Transition.”
Ethereum falls below $1,500 as over $150M is liquidated in 24 hours
The excitement around the Merge saw $ETH start a rally towards $1,800. However, the move was shortlived as $150 million was liquidated off the market.
The price of Ethereum briefly touched $1,640 before falling below $1,500. As a result, roughly $98.6 million in longs were liquidated, while just $48.3 million in shorts were liquidated. Overall, the total liquidation of $ETH in the last 24 hours exceeded $150 million.
Ethereum Classic hashrate surges to over 200 TH/s post-Merge
With mining becoming obsolete on the Ethereum mainnet, PoW miners have flocked to the Ethereum Classic ecosystem.
According to 2Miners data, the migration of miners caused Ethereum Classic’s hashrate to reach a record high of 222.5 TH/s, showing an increase of over 250%.
Charles Hoskinson points out Ethereum’s Merge changes nothing
Cardano’s Charles Hoskinson said that The Merge will not immediately affect the Ethereum ecosystem.
According to Hoskinson, The Merge is just one step away as Ethereum’s performance, operating cost, and liquidity, are yet to be improved.
The Verge and Shanghai forks, which are expected before the end of 2024, will address the issues.
Community braces for ‘fork wars’ after Poloniex’s sudden move to support EthereumFair over ETHW
Justin Sun-backed Poloniex exchange has turned its back on ETHPOW. The crypto exchange announced that the community has agreed to adopt Ethereum Fair (ETF) as the principal proof-of-work (PoW) chain it will support going forward.
Research Highlight
ETH hit peak dominance against BTC going into the Merge
CryptoSlate analysis of the ETH-BTC dominance chart revealed that Ethereum’s dominance over Bitcoin, which has been increasing since July 2021, reached its peak close to the Merge date.
Source: Glassnode
For context, whenever the black area crosses the pink line, Ethereum outperforms Bitcoin, and whenever the green line is crossed, Bitcoin dominates.
News from around the Cryptoverse
Coinbase integrates a crypto-sentiment feature
Coinbase has introduced a crypto-sentiment feature into its app to allow users access to crypto-friendly politicians.
The feature is a part of Coinbase’s crypto lobbying effort ahead of the midterm election in November.
Thailand SEC to place a ban on crypto services
The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand is looking to ban crypto exchanges from offering high-yield services to depositors.
The regulator also proposed prohibiting crypto-related content advertising in the country.
Crypto Gambling rising on Twitch
Gamblers are turning to the video streaming platform Twitch to earn a share of cryptocurrency paid out by Casinos,
As Bloomberg reported, the use of cryptocurrency is turning the platform into an online gambling haven.
Crypto Market
Bitcoin was down -2.42% in the last 24 hours, trading at $19,750, while Ethereum was trading at $1,478.31, recording a decrease of -8.95%
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