Ethereum Merge Set for September, ETH Coin Surges 13% Today

The long-awaited Ethereum Merge is scheduled to launch on Sept. 19, assuming it clears the last test hurdle next month.

A new conference call transcript of Ethereum (ETH) programmers reveals that they are planning to launch the Ethereum Merge to all users of that blockchain on Sept. 19. The Ethereum Merge is the descriptor used for developer activities to migrate the entire system from Ethereum's current proof-of-work (PoW) consensus method used to validate transactions, over to a more environmentally stable proof-of-stake (PoS) process that requires significantly less energy.

However, before the Ethereum Merge can be finally rolled out, it has a final testnet deployment that has to occur next month to ensure all bugs and glitches are fixed first. Regardless, on the news of a tentative date for this major blockchain upgrade, the price of ETH had pumped 13.36% to a peak price of $1,229.84 per coin over the past 24-hour span on cryptocurrency exchanges, according to crypto tracking website CoinMarketCap.

That ETH jump represents more than twice the positive price action of the broader crypto sector, which is up 6.21% at the time of writing, while both Bitcoin and Dogecoin were up less than 6% for the same timeframe.

Why the Ethereum Merge matters

As background, Ethereum's developer team has been working for years to shift the entire system from its energy-sucking PoW consensus method to an eco-friendly PoS approach without shutting the blockchain down. The Ethereum Foundation has long stated that once completed and fully deployed, the Merge will significantly reduce settlement times of transactions, as well as reducing costs and network congestion while exponentially increasing the number of transactions per second.

Is now the time to buy Ethereum?

Even without those benefits from the upgrade, the Ethereum blockchain currently supports the largest number of developer apps in the crypto space, and it's still the backbone of many popular blockchain use cases such as NFTs and decentralized finance offerings.

It's also critically important to note that since the Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP)-1559 was activated in August 2021, more than 2.58 million ETH have been burned, producing a net reduction in supply of 55.54% according to WatchTheBurn.com. That supply reduction is not an accident, but rather an intentional and permanent upgrade to shrink the percentage of every newly minted ETH coin in circulation to make it a more deflationary asset -- increasing the value of each coin over time.

This is not financial advice, and investors should always do their own research before putting money into any investment. However, whether you want to simply "buy the rumor, sell the news" of the Merge or hold Ethereum for the long term -- it is a top tier crypto asset that's likely to go much higher in the next bull market.