The Ethereum Merge Was A Success, Now What's Next? (3 Things)

The Ethereum Merge was a success. Aside from Bitcoin halving events, "The Merge" was the biggest narrative on the crypto scene. So what's next with the event now behind us? Today, we take a look at 3 new catalysts on the horizon.

Ethereum has been the fastest-growing blockchain in history so far. It is a decentralized platform. Having the first-mover advantage, many businesses and applications are building on top of it. And investors are looking at it as one of the more lucrative future investment opportunities as Ethereum becomes deflationary in time.

As we saw in the past, the network was not very scalable. It was getting harder to scale Ethereum as its popularity grew, but Ethereum 2.0 changed all of that. The Ethereum community decided to address this issue by initiating the merge event. This was a huge change, planned and tested for years.

The Ethereum 2.0 network has a different approach. Instead of using the Proof-of-Work (PoW) algorithm, it will use a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) system.

But with "The Merge" now complete and behind us, there are a series of new catalysts for the crypto markets on the horizon. The first of those is what projects Ethereum miners will migrate to fill the immediate void.

What's Coming #1 - Where Will Ethereum Miners Migrate?

When the merge happened, the mining rewards were dissolved. Because of this, many of the miners had to switch their rigs to another blockchain. Some of the miners went back to mining Bitcoin, but others have their sights set on other PoW projects.

One of the first catalysts already underway is a boost to other PoW projects and growing ecosystems. Some of the more prominent ones being discussed are Ethereum Classic (ETC), EthereumPoW (ETHW), Ravencoin (RVN), Flux (FLUX), and Kadena (KDA).

EthereumPoW (ETHW)

EthereumPoW has announced it will be focusing its efforts as "the original PoW-based Ethereum network" as the Ethereum Foundation is shifting to PoS. F2Pool, Poolin, Nanopool, and BTC.com have announced they will support EthereumPoW after the merge.

EthereumPoW, at the time of this writing, does not have an established circulating supply nor a market capitalization and is listed on Gate.io, Poloniex, and Bitrue with mixed support circulating from other mining pools and exchanges.

Other Mining Alternatives

Ravencoin (RVN), Flux (FLUX), Kadena (KDA), Ergo (ERG), Kaspa (KAS), and Ethereum Classic (ETC) have all seen a boost in hash rate following the merge event - and seem to be some of the early winners as miners switch to these projects over the last few days.

What's Coming #2 - Regulation Development

A second catalyst on the horizon is cryptocurrency regulation and likely with it, more clarity. There are two types of cryptocurrency regulation. One type is when governments regulate the industry. The other one is when corporations regulate the industry.

Currently, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulates the securities market while the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulates the futures market. The SEC and the CFTC have been going back and forth with "what" falls under who. Currently, the SEC regulates the exchanges where investors can trade at.

We expect new talks, laws, and even executive-level action to come about over the next 6 to 12 months that could give more clarity and defined rules for all parties involved in the cryptocurrency industry.

What's Coming #3 - The Next Bitcoin Halving

Yes, it will soon be time to prepare once again for the Bitcoin halving event. In just over a year (and we know how fast a year goes by) somewhere early 2024 is shaping up to be the timeframe of this catalyst that has traditionally spurred new bull markets for cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin is still the most popular cryptocurrency. It has been around for years. It is decentralized. There is no central bank. It is peer-to-peer-based. All of which continue to give Bitcoin a favorable stance for investors and supporters alike.

3 Things To Watch For After "The Merge" Wraps Up

There you have it. Three different catalysts for cryptocurrency markets in just over a year. From new PoW ecosystem growth on multiple networks to regulatory developments, and on to the next Bitcoin halving event - investors have several catalysts to monitor and plan for after the successful Ethereum 2.0 merge event has finished.