Crypto side: ether stands tall, the merge may postpone again

A crypto landmark, referred to as the merge, may embark on its journey soon. It entailed a mainstream update for the blockchain network Ethereum, where countless crypto projects have and may commence in the future as well, with the objective of making the interface and functionality much smoother and more efficient. While most members of the industry take in this news as a breath of fresh air, investors in stETH and ether grip their seats as the outcome is a new and uncharted world system.
Initially, the merge was set to be released several years before but has been postponed repeatedly to the point where investors thought it will forever remain a prototype rather than get into action.
However, June found the market representatives leaning toward it being uncovered soon. Unfortunately for the expectant eyes, the process is not linear enough for an immediate effect of the merge.
Bets have been going around—and not just verbally, but actual bets placed on crypto sites that encourage patrons to bet using stablecoins on the possibility (or lack thereof) of activities that may happen in the upcoming days, months or years.
One such site is Polymarket, where investors have pooled in a 67% hope that the Ethereum 2.0 will commence by the latter end of the year; possibly October. While 13% have settled with the month being September.
Regardless of the month, the merge pulling through would elect a cushion response for ether slumping, as the protracted schedule for the upgrade over the course of the years has led to combined beliefs that it may never happen at all. Meanwhile, ether was observed to be trading at about $1,200, which is certainly a decline from April’s recorded $3,500. Although a majority of the mixed feelings regarding the update were under the umbrella of commotion in the market.
The watered-down version of ether unanimously termed stETH, is referred to as a derivative which is either a prototype not yet suitable under market guidelines for the upgrade or isn’t easy to retrieve until half a year post the unveiling of the merge.
Regardless, there is still a side that argued the credibility of the merge happening this year. A spokesperson from this side is the founder and CEO of Umee—where a foundation-level blockchain for transactions of a fair exchange nature is being built. Brent Xu states that protocol is beyond simplicity and that since Ethereum is just enormous, the chances of meeting the deadline may fall short despite expectations. Xu also reiterated that investors worry their stETH wouldn’t be valid given the time it may take for the merge to happen.
For a while after its founding, the stETH was a preferable choice among shareholders since they can reap interests somewhere else by supposedly staking their ether. To enable this action, they had to meet the criterion of locking away 32 ether (at the present day, amounting to about $38,000) until upgrades rolled out to dish away from the old version.
Lido went against it and gave them the option to stake much less ether in exchange for yield, and take more stETH. So now, it is clear the possible postponement or delay of the merge has the stETH investors wobbly on their footing as they try to hold their ground.
For now, it is expected that they might have to ransack around and find alternative sources to sell a tonne of stETH.