Ethereum Merge Buyers Turn Into Sellers as Trouble-free Upgrade Underwhelms

cryptonews.com:

The price of Ethereum has fallen by 1% in the past hour and by the same percentage in the past day, with the now-completed Merge failing to spark a bull market as some had anticipated. 

ETH had increased to as much as $2,000 in mid-August as investors became excited about the second-biggest cryptocurrency becoming deflationary - yet aside from a mini-rally to $1,780 over the weekend, the price action has been disappointing.

Unfortunately for Ethereum and its holders, the Merge has happened in the wake of yet another downturn in global stock markets and the cryptocurrency market. Once again, the cause of this dip was the release of disappointing inflation figures for the United States, signalling that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates yet again.

However, if Ethereum's supporters are the believe, it's only a matter of time before the shift to proof-of-stake bears dividends for ETH holders. Because with a drop in daily issuance, as well as an increase staking and token burns, ETH's supply will eventually end up being squeezed to the point of pushing up its price.

Prior to the Merge, ETH had enjoyed better price action than BTC, largely because investors had hopped onto it in the hope that it would see big gains following the move to Proof-of-Stake (PoS).

For example, CoinMarketCap data reveals that the price of Ethereum has increased by 18% in the past 60 days and by 45% in the past 90, in contrast to -5% and -4% for BTC (over the same timeframes). Such rises can likely be explained as the market 'pricing in' the Merge, implying that the expected short-term gains from the move to PoS had happened some time before today.

Indeed, today is likely to be disappointing for anyone who bought ETH over the weekend, hoping that