Ethereum, the largest altcoin, continued to take steps to complete the long-awaited “merger” with ETH 2.0. Although, originally scheduled for June, it had been postponed. As it stands, there is no deadline for the full result. Still, that hasn’t quite stopped validators from betting their part, showing their support.
How’s it lookin’ down there?
Well, for starters, despite the ups and downs, the in-transit merge has done huge favors to the largest altcoin network. As the Ethereum network accelerates the shift towards ETH 2.0, investors have geared up for the staking functionality by continuing to deposit Ether.
As of May 26, total ETH 2.0 deposit contracts had hit a new all-time high of 12,680,930 ETH, according to data provided by Glassnode.
The deposit contract is where Ethereum investors have sent their ether if they want to participate in the network and, likewise, get rewards. The upgrades are in line with Ethereum’s ongoing transition to transforming the network into a proof-of-stake. This change should make Ethereum an energy-efficient ecosystem.
Here’s another positive sign. The number of Ethereum addresses with a non-zero balance hit a new all-time high—just like it did at this time last year. Now more than 81 million addresses holding some amount of the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, according to blockchain data site Glassnode.
These developments, coupled with the latest drop in the fee structure, could soon trigger a price rally.
A possible delay…?
Ethereum’s network did witness a hiccup along the way to its destination. The Ethereum beacon chain, which will be crucial to the Ethereum Merge scheduled for later this year, experienced a potentially high-level security risk known as a blockchain “reorganization.”
This error can occur either through a network failure, such as a bug, or through a malicious attack, temporarily resulting in a duplicate version of a blockchain. The longer a reorganization lasts, the more serious the consequences. To make matters worse, ETH plunged to its lowest level against Bitcoin in October 2021.
Today’s pullback saw ETH’s dollar value plunge 7%, leaving some $86 million in liquidated positions.
