Ethereum Was Down More Than 10% Today. Is It Time to Buy?
KEY POINTS
- The Ethereum blockchain's home-grown coin ETH was down more than 10% today to as low as $1,370.84 over the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap.
- The coin's price had been as high as $1,654.43 during the past month following news from developers that the Ethereum Merge could go live as soon as Sept. 19.
- The core developer team for the Ethereum blockchain has been working to move the entire system from its current proof-of-work (PoW) protocol to an environmentally-friendly proof-of-stake (PoS) model.
- Once completed, that migration (known as the Ethereum Merge) will increase the blockchain's scale, speed, and throughput while lowering the transaction costs.
After surging almost 40% over the past 30 days, crypto's leading smart contract platform could be suffering from a case of "buy the rumor, sell the news" regarding the Ethereum Merge.
During the past 30 days the price of Ethereum's in-house crypto coin Ether (ETH) soared nearly 40% on the news that the project's long-awaited shift from its PoW method to validate transactions over to a more energy-efficient PoS model could occur by Sept. 19.
However, crypto's top blockchain for smart contracts could be experiencing a bit of "buy the rumor, sell the news" activity as ETH was down more than 10% to a low of $1,370.84 per coin on cryptocurrency exchanges. This represents a drop from its 24-hour high of $1,531.00 according to crypto tracking website, CoinMarketCap. That's roughly twice the decline of the broader cryptocurrency sector at press time. In contrast, the 24-hour price drop for Bitcoin (BTC) was 4.95% and 6.6% for Dogecoin (DOGE).
Why is ETH trending down on recent Ethereum Merge news?
It's widely believed within the crypto sector that the Ethereum Merge will significantly increase the number of transactions per second that the Ethereum blockchain can manage, while also shortening settlement times, and reducing congestion and transaction fees for users.
However, the migration from Ethereum's PoW consensus model has been underway for several years and has been plagued by repeated stops and starts in an effort to keep the network going while the upgrades are being made. Some developers have likened it to rebuilding a car's engine while driving the speed limit down a freeway.
Is now the time to buy Ethereum?
Even if the Ethereum upgrade experiences another delay -- which has not officially occurred that we know of -- the Ethereum blockchain has a lot of potential upsides. It currently supports the largest number of developer apps in the crypto sector. Ethereum is also the preferred platform for many use cases that are still popular, such as decentralized finance options and NFTs transactions -- despite the current crypto downturn.
It's important to note that this is not financial advice, and investors should always do their own research before pouring money into any investment. However, Ethereum is a top-flight crypto asset -- with or without the Ethereum Merge -- and it's priced at a deep 72% discount from its all-time high last November. Right now, the time and the price may be right for anyone looking to consider dollar cost averaging into Ethereum.
Our Research Expert
Tor Constantino is a corporate communications executive and business writer with an MBA. Since 2017, he has written about cryptocurrencies, blockchain, and crypto's potential to revolutionize finance. His writing has appeared in outlets including Entrepreneur, Forbes, Fortune, CEOWorld, and Yahoo!.
We're firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. Motley Fool Money does not cover all offers on the market. Motley Fool Money is 100% owned and operated by The Motley Fool. Our knowledgeable team of personal finance editors and analysts are employed by The Motley Fool and held to the same set of publishing standards and editorial integrity while maintaining professional separation from the analysts and editors on other Motley Fool brands.