The upcoming Ethereum Merger that will change the protocol PoS is the primary cause for the price increase of Ether. The crypto asset must reach the 50-week EMA at USD 2,340 before moving toward USD 2,500.

Ether (ETH), the Ethereum native token, recently outperformed Bitcoin (BTC) regarding returns. The price of the second largest cryptocurrency has also doubled since the crash to USD 885 in June.

According to technical and fundamental indicators, the price action of Ether is moving toward USD 2,500.

The Ethereum Merger

The Merger scheduled for September 16 is the primary cause for the price increase of Ether. After that event, the network will change its protocol from proof of work (PoW) to proof-of-take (PoS).

In addition, validators will replace miners when the network shifts to proof of stake. That caused fear among miners like Chandler Guo, a Chinese cryptocurrency miner against the measure.

That has led Chandler to name his version of the Ethereum PoW chain ETHPoW and its native token ETHW.

Binance plans to list ETHW on its trading platform, as other crypto exchanges have already done.

However, current Ether holders will reportedly receive an equal amount from the new Ethereum PoW chain.

That should increase the demand for Ether in the cryptocurrency market, driving the price action toward USD 2500.

The Ethereum 50-Week EMA

Following a significant drop in its price, Ether seems to be in a recovery rally. The Ethereum native token has adjusted its resistance level at USD 1,625 as a support level. The second-largest cryptocurrency is heading toward a subsequent resistance level at USD 1,975.

If the value of Ether hits USD 1,975, it will head toward USD 2,000 in the short term. The crypto asset must reach the 50-week exponential moving average (50-week EMA) at USD 2,340 before moving toward USD 2500.

Inflows from Institutional Investors

The inflows of capital into Ethereum-based investments will drive the price of Ether toward USD 2,500.

Institutional products attracted USD 16.3 million in investor funds in just one week. Meanwhile, Bitcoin experienced capital flows amounting to USD 8.5 million in the same period. That aspect proves that Ether has outperformed the pioneering cryptocurrency.

The hype about the syndicate is a leading bullish factor, as described above. However, after the PoS upgrade in September, traders might start selling the news, causing the price of Ether to drop significantly.

Ether is trading at around USD 1,865 and has accumulated a 15.5% gain over the last week. While its daily trading volume is above USD 17.63 billion, its market capitalization is about USD 223.58 billion, according to CoinGecko.

Cryptocurrencies play a crucial role in the economy, evident in the interest of investors in them. The increase in the price of Ether over the last week proves it has outperformed Bitcoin in terms of returns. However, it is a matter of time before seeing how the behavior of the market determines what will happen.

By Alexander Salazar

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has launched a private fund offering US institutional clients’ direct exposure to Bitcoin.

BlackRock revealed the new product in a blog on Thursday, though without giving many details. In that post, he notes that, “Despite the sharp decline in the digital asset market, we are still seeing substantial interest from some institutional clients in how to efficiently and profitably access these assets using our technology and product capabilities.”

Bitcoin remains more than 60% below its all-time high of nearly $69,000. However, many investors believe it has found a bottom, in line with the rebound on Wall Street – the two asset classes are more correlated with each other this year than ever – and the increased appetite for risk assets. The digital currency has risen to touch $24,700 again, its highest level since just before falling to its June low.

“Bitcoin is the oldest, largest, and most liquid crypto asset, and is currently the main object of interest for our clients within the crypto asset space,” the post continues.

BlackRock Announcement Details

The announcement comes after CEO Larry Fink said earlier this year that BlackRock clients had been showing “increasing interest” in digital currencies, including stablecoins, and “the underlying technologies,” i.e. the Blockchain.

The company said it has worked on four areas of digital assets and their associated ecosystems where it sees potential to benefit its clients and capital markets more broadly, including: permissioned Blockchain, stablecoins, crypto assets, and tokenization.

The global investment manager is not the only international financial services company that has bet on cryptocurrencies. Last April, Mastercard launched its first cryptocurrency-backed card, in partnership with Nexo, a fintech for buying, changing, and borrowing.

BlackRock, NGOs, and Sustainable Energy

BlackRock also highlights the work of energy NGOs RMI and EnergyWeb for their work “to bring greater transparency to the use of sustainable energy in Bitcoin mining,” and says it will “follow progress around those initiatives.” Institutional investors once hostile to the cryptocurrency industry have changed their tune in recent years, but environmental concerns surrounding the Bitcoin mining process have remained a stumbling block for many.

In March this year, a report by Nigel Bolton, co-chief investment officer of Core Stock Exchange at BlackRock, noted that there are “US companies that can help. We like companies with gas distribution networks and long-term contracts. We also like companies that can help supply gas while also having specialist carbon capture and blue hydrogen service divisions.”

Bolton and his team also highlighted in the report the importance that companies specializing in renewable energy will continue to play. It should be noted that the EU expects to triple the weight of solar and wind energy by 2030. “Direct providers of wind and solar energy are clear beneficiaries. But the supply of raw materials and the extraction of industrial metals is also essential for this process”.

One of the materials that will be key in the energy transition will be copper. “It is a conductive, malleable and cheap material compared to other conductive metals such as silver. Two-thirds of global copper demand is related to electrification.

The launch of the fund marks a new foray for BlackRock into cryptocurrencies. The company, which has some $8.5 trillion in assets under management, recently announced a partnership with Coinbase that allows its institutional clients to buy crypto, starting with Bitcoin.

By Audy Castaneda

BTC may have created a short-term double top pattern.

Bitcoin (BTC) is showing several bullish signs in the daily time frame but has yet to break out of a short-term corrective pattern.

Bitcoin has been on the upswing since hitting a long-term low of $17,622 on June 18. On July 19, it broke a long-term descending resistance line, which had been in place since the end of March.

Short Term BTC Pattern

On August 11, BTC hit a local high of $24,918, which was the highest since June 12. However, he failed to sustain this rise and created a long upper wick on his daily candlestick.

If the up move continues, the closest resistance area would be found at $29,370. This target is the 0.382 Fib retracement resistance level.

An interesting reading comes from the daily RSI, which moved above 50 at the same time that the price broke out of the descending resistance line.

Since then, the RSI has created an ascending triangle, which is often considered a bullish pattern. The indicator is currently at 61, right at the resistance line of this pattern.

Therefore, a break above would also likely cause the price to accelerate to the upside.

Despite the relative bullishness of the daily time frame, the six-hour chart shows that BTC has been trading within an ascending parallel channel since the June 18 low. Such channels generally contain corrective patterns, meaning that an eventual breakout would be expected.

Additionally, the price has created what resembles a short-term double top, which is considered a bearish pattern at the resistance line of the channel.

On August 9, the price bounced off the middle line of this channel and off a short-term ascending support line.

Therefore, if BTC breaks out of the channel or support line, it will likely determine the direction of the future trend.

Wave Count Analysis

The main wave count indicates that BTC is likely to be in wave three of a five-wave-up move. The sub-wave count is shown in yellow and it also suggests that the price is in wave three. So this appears to be a 1-2/1-2 wave formation. If correct, it would mean that the upward movement will accelerate in the near future.

For the count to remain correct, Bitcoin must stay above the original 1-2 slope.

The most likely long-term wave count is also bullish, lining up with the proposed short-term count.

The truth is that new data on inflation in the United States, released this week, was a catalyst for the long-awaited change: Bitcoin and altcoins rose at the same time as equities, and the consumer price index (CPI) for July insinuates that inflation has peaked.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 2.1% and 1.9%, respectively, on the day of publication, August 10. The BTC/US$ pair, in turn, set a daily candle around US$900.

Still, instead of accumulating optimism, market commentators were anything but bullish as it turned to dust.

Investor Raoul Pal, for example, stated yesterday on Twitter that, “this seems to be one of the most hated rallies I’ve seen in quite a few years in equities.”

Predicting a major turnaround in the crypto space, popular trader and analyst Il Capo of Crypto pinned the $25,500 mark as the likely maximum target before a new downtrend begins.

“BTC pumped almost 40%. There is a huge possibility of a pullback. Buy on the dip,” he explained via Twitter.

As usual, the best course of action is to do your own research before making decisions.

By Audy Castaneda