With the activation of Bellatrix on September 6, we are now in the final few days before the Merge.
The merge is still expected to happen around Sep 13-15. What's happening today is the Bellatrix hard fork, which prepares the chain for the merge. Still important though - make sure to update your clients!
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) September 6, 2022
The Merge hardfork, officially known as Paris, will activate when the network TTD reaches 58750000000000000000000, with current best estimates to be on September 14 EST.
Ethereum Price since August 1, 2022; Source: CoinGecko
After a dip on Tuesday, September 6th during the US session where the ETH price briefly dropped to $1,500, it has since rebounded in the last few days to above the $1,600 level. However this is still below the high during mid-August where it briefly broke above $2,000.
As we enter this crucial week, many are anticipating a pump for ETH on news of successful Merge. However a bearish macro-economic outlook hangs over the crypto market, with the August US CPI print looming on September 13, just a day before the Merge. We examine the factors at play.
