Note: Please keep in mind that nothing in this post should be construed as investment advice. Readers embrace the viewpoints presented in this article at their own discretion.
2022 has been a difficult and unexpected year for cryptocurrency fans. Following a bull run in 2021, cryptocurrency markets began a down market. The market was exacerbated by the crypto winter, which saw crypto lenders and a few coins declare bankruptcy.
The Merge was the most anticipated and thrilling news of 2022. The Merge has been planned for years and is a historic turning moment in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry.
What is the Merge?

The ultimate transition of the Ethereum blockchain from Proof of Work (PoW) to Proof of Stake is known as the Merge (PoS). Because Ethereum handles 94% of crypto transactions and over 90% of non-fungible token transactions, the shift has to be properly planned and implemented. Furthermore, it has the second-largest market capitalization in the blockchain globe.
Ethereum is the standard maker and setter for all blockchains that handle smart contracts, decentralized finance, NFTs, blockchain games, and a plethora of other services that Ethereum and Ethereum compatible blockchains now provide. Most tokens are ERC compliant, demonstrating Ethereum’s dominance in the crypto market. ERC is the abbreviation for the code used to support Ethereum’s native coin, Ether (ETH). Furthermore, as the ERC programming matures, other blockchains adopt it or construct their own compatible code.
Because of the blockchain’s economic strength and influence over the sectors it established, its disruption, failure, or corruption might not only cost the crypto industry billions of dollars, but also result in a major outflow of capital from the market. Fear of investors departing the cryptocurrency market is exacerbated by a worldwide recession, high inflation rates, quantitative tightening in the United States, and the economic devastation brought by the crypto bear market and crypto winter.
Benefits of the Merge
Ethereum switched from proof of work to proof of stake because it couldn’t compete and scale as a PoW blockchain. Its PoW consensus mechanism was energy-intensive, costly, and sluggish, resulting in extremely large transaction costs (also known as gas fees).

Ethereum 2.0, the blockchain’s proof of stake version, will have transaction speeds of around 100,000 transactions per second, cheaper transactions, less traffic congestion, use significantly less energy, and employ fewer people at a lower cost to process, verify, and confirm blockchain transactions.
Risks of the Merge
Despite the benefits provided by the Merge, some crypto experts anticipate that Ethereum prices will fall, Ethereum holders will sell off their assets in a panic, and the Ethereum network will ultimately fail.
One worry is that, unlike Ethereum, Ethereum 2.0 will be unremarkable. It will simply be another PoS blockchain. As a result, competing blockchain will gain market share as blockchain supporters find less value in the blockchain.
Another worry is that the PoW fork formed after the Merge would wreak chaos on the Ethereum ecosystem and threaten Ethereum 2.0’s long-term viability.
Finally, Ethereum price predictions have ranged from wildly enthusiastic to dishearteningly dismal. In a turbulent market, Ethereum’s price is influenced by a plethora of variables that have no bearing on reality. Furthermore, its market price is significantly influenced by demand. There is nothing else to back up its worth. As a result, the emotion and views of crypto enthusiasts, institutional investors, and the community are critical to its continued price, demand, and market dominance.
Ethereum Price Performance in Early 2022
In the first and second quarters of 2022, the price of ETH fell precipitously, as did the prices of Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies. During the crypto winter, the price of ETH fell even more. The negative trend was caused by altcoins rapidly losing money, crypto lenders going bankrupt, and widespread panic and terror in the crypto industry.
The expanding NFT market and its new offering, NFT collectibles, boosted ETH prices. Millions of dollars were being paid for NFT memorabilia. The majority of the transactions took place on the Ethereum blockchain.
Ethereum Price Performance Before the Merge
The price of ETH fell to $880 in July 2022, a considerable decline from its high of $4,800 in November 2021. A month before the Merge, the price of Ethereum rose. The merger was scheduled for September 15, 2022. The enthusiasm surrounding the Merge, as well as the potential for immediate future riches, prompted a rush to purchase Ethereum.
Unfortunately, the ETHW Core fork that was supposed to happen after the Merge raised concerns that Ethereum 2.0 may fail or be less profitable than expected. The most recent big fork in Ethereum’s blockchain resulted in the formation of Ethereum 1.0 and Ethereum Classic (the original Ethereum blockchain). As we all know, following the fork, Ethereum Classic did not perform as predicted. It was quickly eclipsed by Ethereum 1.0 and has remained so ever since.
Post-Merge ETH Price Performance
The price of ETH surged immediately following the Merge. The price of ETH plummeted two days following the Merge. Its market valuation continues to vary, with no discernible trend. This lack of clarity has resulted in some inconsistent financial recommendations.
The bulk of cryptocurrency professionals and watchers have predicted the future of Ethereum 2.0 using technical and fundamental research. It has a solid foundation and technological support since it is a first mover, major inventor, leads the crypto world in transactions produced and hosted on its blockchain, and is critical to the NFT business.
Furthermore, the blockchain manages a wide range of sophisticated instruments, is critical to the functioning of cryptocurrency exchanges, is extremely liquid, and is a component of a huge number of blockchain networks. Furthermore, it is still the favored platform for developers looking to construct decentralized apps, and it is an excellent investment for anyone following a green investing plan.
Ethereum Price Prediction for Q4 2022
The majority of crypto industry insiders predict that Ethereum’s price will range between $4,000 and $6,500 by the end of 2022. The most pessimistic forecasts estimate a drop to $500. Nonetheless, they all think that the Ethereum price will be in the $6,000 level by the end of 2023. Analysts predict that the price of Ethereum will continue to rise by the hundreds of percent over the next two to five years.
Key Takeaways
The Ethereum price, like other cryptocurrency currencies, is volatile and unpredictable, and previous performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Many investors believe that Ethereum will have a bull run in the future. These predictions are backed up by the company’s present industry position, financial status, and other considerations. Investors must be knowledgeable in order to make the best decisions for themselves and their holdings. Ethereum may outperform Bitcoin in terms of valuation, retain its market position, or fade into oblivion.
The answer to the question “why is Ethereum going up?” is its technology, which has a first mover advantage in the business and has evolved to be more competitive than its competitors.
FAQs
What’s the distinction between Bitcoin and Ethereum?
Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency to be made available to the general public. It holds value but has limited use. As the value of Bitcoin climbs, its applications become progressively more constrained since the total amount of Bitcoin accessible is limited.
Ethereum was once capped, however with the Merge, it is no longer capped. The native token of the Ethereum 2.0 network, ETH2, is not capped and is classified as a transactional cryptocurrency. It serves as a payment medium and may be used to store value.
What’s the difference between ETH and ETH2?
ETH is the native token of the Ethereum (1.0) blockchain, and it has a limited supply. The Ethereum 2.0 blockchain’s native cryptocurrency, ETH2, has an uncapped token supply. Furthermore, Ethereum owners can transfer their ETH to ETH2 and vice versa.
Why is it difficult to anticipate the price of Ethereum?
A wide variety of unknown macroeconomic factors influence Ethereum price predictions. Because Ethereum is not linked to the actual world, there are no real-world assets or events that can be used to forecast future Ethereum prices. So an Ethereum price forecast is simply someone’s best estimate as to what will happen in the future.
What exactly is the Beacon blockchain?
The Beacon blockchain was linked with the Ethereum (1.0) blockchain in order to transform Ethereum to a proof of stake consensus process.
How does Ethereum 2.0 plan to handle 100,000 transactions per second?
To accelerate transaction processing, Ethereum 2.0 will employ sharding. With sharding, there are side chains that process transactions for the main blockchain and then return the processed and recorded transactions to the main blockchain. These chains will help to alleviate congestion on the main blockchain and lower transaction fees. In 2023, sharding will be implemented to Ethereum 2.0.