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3 strategies investors might use to trade the upcoming Ethereum Merge

The Ethereum network’s long-awaited transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake is set to occur from Sept 15 to 16 and for the last year, traders and analysts have been discussing various outcomes for the upgrade and possible trading strategies. 

Let’s take a look at three options investors and traders have.

Hodl ETH to earn the expected “hardfork” token

The first strategy is relatively simple. Traders can simply buy Ether (ETH) in the spot market and hold it in their exchange wallet, or whatever platform/wallet will support forked tokens, and wait for the expected PoW token.

Way back in 2017, when Bitcoin was forked to Bitcoin Cash, BTC holders received an equal amount of BCH, which at one point traded for $1,650 per token. At the height of the 2021 bull market, BCH rallied as high as $800.

If PoW tokens from those entities that choose to ignore the Merge happens, then finding exchanges that support the hard forks would be the place to sell them. Don’t forget to pay your taxes if your country obligates you to do so.

Celebrities called out for shilling NFTs: Nifty Newsletter, Aug 10–16

A Polygon executive highlighted that NFT games have an advantage over traditional "money in, no money out" gaming business models.

Economic design changes will affect ETH's value post-Merge, says ConsenSys exec

Lex Sokolin said that post-Merge, DeFi projects will have to compete with the returns offered by the core ETH protocol.

Economic design changes will affect ETH's value post-Merge, says ConsenSys exec

Lex Sokolin said that post-Merge, DeFi projects will have to compete with the returns offered by the core ETH protocol.

Price analysis 8/17: BTC, ETH, BNB, XRP, ADA, SOL, DOGE, DOT, SHIB, AVAX

Bitcoin’s (BTC) bounce fizzled out near $24,500 on Aug. 17, indicating that the recovery still faces stiff resistance from the bears. On-chain monitoring resource Material Indicators said the ask liquidity on the Fire Charts was similar to prior local tops.

Another reason for caution among crypto investors was that the recovery in the S&P 500 was reaching extreme overbought levels in the near term. Jurrien Timmer, director of global macro at asset manager Fidelity Investments, said that 88% of stocks in the S&P 500 were trading above their 50-day moving average, which was “stunning.”

Some were also cautious as Michael Burry, the investor who famously shorted the 2008 housing bubble, almost emptied his equity portfolio in the second quarter of this year in expectation of a sharp fall in the stock markets.

Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360

While the short-term looks uncertain, corporate investors who usually are in the game for the long term have increased their investments in the blockchain industry, including the crypto space. The top 40 publicly traded companies invested approximately $6 billion into blockchain startups between September 2021 to June 2022, according to a blog by Blockdata on Aug. 17. That is more than three times the $1.9 billion invested by corporations between January 2021 to September 2021.

What are the critical levels on the downside that will suggest that the recovery could be faltering? Let’s study the charts of the top-10 cryptocurrencies to find out.

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Price analysis 8/17: BTC, ETH, BNB, XRP, ADA, SOL, DOGE, DOT, SHIB, AVAX

Crypto and stock markets corrected as traders grew nervous ahead of Wednesday’s FOMC minutes, but the real stress point is whether traders will “buy the dip.”

Price analysis 8/17: BTC, ETH, BNB, XRP, ADA, SOL, DOGE, DOT, SHIB, AVAX

Crypto and stock markets corrected as traders grew nervous ahead of Wednesday’s FOMC minutes, but the real stress point is whether traders will “buy the dip.”

Price analysis 8/17: BTC, ETH, BNB, XRP, ADA, SOL, DOGE, DOT, SHIB, AVAX

Bitcoin’s (BTC) bounce fizzled out near $24,500 on Aug. 17, indicating that the recovery still faces stiff resistance from the bears. On-chain monitoring resource Material Indicators said the ask liquidity on the Fire Charts was similar to prior local tops.

Another reason for caution among crypto investors was that the recovery in the S&P 500 was reaching extreme overbought levels in the near term. Jurrien Timmer, director of global macro at asset manager Fidelity Investments, said that 88% of stocks in the S&P 500 were trading above their 50-day moving average, which was “stunning.”

Some were also cautious as Michael Burry, the investor who famously shorted the 2008 housing bubble, almost emptied his equity portfolio in the second quarter of this year in expectation of a sharp fall in the stock markets.

Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360

While the short-term looks uncertain, corporate investors who usually are in the game for the long term have increased their investments in the blockchain industry, including the crypto space. The top 40 publicly traded companies invested approximately $6 billion into blockchain startups between September 2021 to June 2022, according to a blog by Blockdata on Aug. 17. That is more than three times the $1.9 billion invested by corporations between January 2021 to September 2021.

What are the critical levels on the downside that will suggest that the recovery could be faltering? Let’s study the charts of the top-10 cryptocurrencies to find out.

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Tornado Cash sanctions will ultimately undermine the US and strengthen crypto

Like any aging empire, America is reacting to its competition.

Study: Insider trading occurs in 10% to 25% of cryptocurrency listings

The study found abnormal levels of return in a sample of tokens just before their listing announcement on Coinbase.

Ethereum Foundation clarifies that the upcoming Merge upgrade will not reduce gas fees

The Merge will still reduce the network's energy consumption by an estimated 99.5%.

Ethereum Foundation clarifies that the upcoming Merge upgrade will not reduce gas fees

The Merge will still reduce the network's energy consumption by an estimated 99.5%.

Pushing Bitcoin to become more scalable with zero-knowledge proofs

Cointelegraph Research explains the EC-STARKs technology and discusses what this means for the cryptocurrency market.

Pushing Bitcoin to become more scalable with zero-knowledge proofs

Cointelegraph Research explains the EC-STARKs technology and discusses what this means for the cryptocurrency market.

Bitcoin price dives pre-FOMC amid warning $17.6K low was not the bottom

The bottom "is not in" for either stocks or crypto, one analyst believes, as alarming data shows copycat moves from 2008 by the S&P 500.

Bitcoin price dives pre-FOMC amid warning $17.6K low was not the bottom

Bitcoin (BTC) dropped to weekly lows at the Aug. 17 Wall Street open as upcoming Federal Reserve comments unsettled risk assets.

BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView

Dollar climbs as Fed minutes due

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView tracked a more than 2% daily decline in BTC/USD, which hit $23,325 on Bitstamp.

Already showing signs of weakness, the pair slid further as United States equities began trading, hours before the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) was due to release minutes from its latest meeting.

While not involving a decision on interest rates, the meeting was cued to give an insight into the Fed’s thinking in terms of the next rate tweak due in September.

“The important event tonight with the FOMC minutes, through which information can be received whether the FED is going to be hawkish or dovish,” Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe summarized in his latest Twitter update.

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Fake Manchester United token soars 3,000% after Elon Musk jokes about buying team

Manchester United Fan Token (MUFC) is a dead coin and not related to the sports franchise, but one Elon Musk tweet was enough to revive it on Aug. 17.

Fake Man U token pumps after Elon Musk's tweet

To clarify, MUFC is not an official Manchester United crypto token. It came to life in August 2021 after a team of programmers, who said to be hardcore fans of the Manchester United, falsely claimed that holding MUFC would give them influence on the football club's decisions.

The team later conducted an "airdrop" round of 10,000,000,000 MUFC in November 2021, promising to provide 10,000 MUFC to users who follow its official social media handles. The prospects of getting free MUFC tokens helped its price rally to as high as $1.

But the project turned out to be vaporware, eventually leading MUFC down by 100% after November. It was deemed extinct until a tweet from billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk on Aug. 17 revived it from oblivion.

The Tesla CEO tweeted that he would buy the Manchester United football club, which he later admitted was a "long-running joke."

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Fake Manchester United token soars 3,000% after Elon Musk jokes about buying team

Manchester United Fan Token (MUFC) is a dead coin and not related to the sports franchise, but one Elon Musk tweet was enough to revive it on Aug. 17.

Fake Man U token pumps after Elon Musk's tweet

To clarify, MUFC is not an official Manchester United crypto token. It came to life in August 2021 after a team of programmers, who are said to be hardcore Manchester United fans, falsely claimed that holding MUFC would give buye influence on the football club's decisions.

The team later conducted an "airdrop" round of 10,000,000,000 MUFC in November 2021, promising to provide 10,000 MUFC to users who followed its official social media handles. The prospects of getting free MUFC tokens helped its price rally to as high as $1.

But the project turned out to be vaporware, eventually leading MUFC down by 100% after November. It was deemed extinct until a tweet from billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk on Aug. 17 revived it from oblivion.

The Tesla CEO tweeted that he would buy the Manchester United football club, which he later admitted was a "long-running joke."

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Indian police launch probe into BitConnect founder wanted by US SEC

The Indian police launched an investigation against BitConnect co-founder Satish Kumbhani months after the U.S. SEC said he relocated from India.

Indian police launch probe into BitConnect founder wanted by US SEC

The Indian police launched an investigation against BitConnect co-founder Satish Kumbhani months after the U.S. SEC said he relocated from India.

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