Chart of the Day
The crypto market continued its sideways movements on Wednesday as investors eagerly await a clear direction from the Federal Reserve’s comment on inflation. Stability returns as the central theme in the derivatives market as the monthly delivery date draws near. As of the time of writing, BTC is trading above the $21.5k support level and the 100-hour moving average, after seeing marginal increases over the last 24 hours. On the upside, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap is facing immediate hurdles in the $22k to $22.4k zone. BTC will likely see accelerated momentum once it breaks above the key bearish trend line with an upper bound near $22.4k that is taking shape on the hourly chart. On-chain metrics show that long-term holders’ supply remains near historical cycle highs, suggesting that the profitability for holders is still under immense pressure. Meanwhile, the on-chain median transfer volume remains in structural decline, suggesting a lack of retail participation on the blockchain.
ETH saw a stronger rebound compared to BTC, with its price jumping by 4.1% during the same period. In the derivatives market, the basis for ETH futures expiring in December 2022 has dipped to a new low, a rare occurrence even after factoring in the hedging wave ahead of The Merge. In the options market, $2 billion worth of notional is about to expire on Aug. 26, with the current maximum pain price sitting near $1,600. Most major altcoins are largely in the green, with ETC and ATOM leading the pack on 7% gains over a similar time frame.
Talk of the Town
The Merge is coming, perhaps sooner than expected. The Ethereum Foundation has finalized the date for the shift towards a PoS consensus, according to a blog post on Wednesday. The transition will be carried out in two phases: The Merge will first be activated on the Beacon Chain with the Bellatrix upgrade on Sept. 6, while the PoW chain will migrate to PoS after hitting a specific Total Difficulty value, which is expected to occur between Sept. 10 and 20.
Source: Bybit Blog
