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Ethereum Classic (ETC) Hashrate surges ahead of Ethereum Merge

As the upcoming Ethereum merge continues to cause excitement within the crypto space, Ethereum Classic (ETC), a sister of Ethereum, has seen an 83% increase in hashrate since June according to Gayatri Dhumal, a researcher at BitwiseInvest.

As the hashrate of Ethereum Classic surges, Ethereum on the other hand has dipped by 11%.

Why is ETC hashrate surging?

Ethereum Classic has been the largest beneficiary of the upcoming Ethereum merge that has caused a massive exodus of Ethereum miners as the mining of Ethereum comes to a halt with the Ethereum merge upgrade.

Ethereum miners are opting out and the closest blockchain is Ethereum Classic.

While there are some efforts to launch new hard forks of Ethereum after the Merge, a majority of blockchain protocols have committed to support Ethereum after the Merge upgrade by insisting that they shall not support any proof-of-work (PoW) forks of Ethereum afterwards.

As a result, Ethereum Classic remains the only Ethereum hard fork that legitimately exists.

Earlier this month, Vitalik Buterin, the Ethereum co-founder, said that “pretty much everyone” was supportive of the Ethereum Merge that will move it from a PoW to a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain.

Generally, Ethereum Classic is expected to win big after the merge as it will be left as the only Ethereum fork to enjoy the original Ethereum PoW mechanism.

Ethereum Classic is a hard fork of Ethereum. It forked back in 2016 following the infamous DAO attack that remains one of the most significant hacking in the history of cryptocurrencies. Ethereum Classic was created by those who wanted to preserve the original Ethereum chain.

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Largest Ethereum mining pool Ethermine launches new ETH staking service

Ethermine, the largest Ethereum mining pool, has announced the launch of a new ETH staking service that offers members a chance to collectively stake their ETH and earn 4.43% interest annually. The new staking service allows users to earn additional income on their ETH deposits.

Members will require as little as 0.1 ETH (which is just about $159) to participate in the new ETH staking service. The staking service will, however, not be available to US miners.

The new ETH staking service comes ahead of the much-anticipated Ethereum Merge, which is expected to happen on September 15.

Ethermine’s new ETH staking pool

At press time, 393 Ether (worth about $626,000) had been invested in the new ETH staking pool.

Such staking pools offer competitive interest rates and lower barriers of entry compared to solo staking pools that require node operators to stake at least 32 ETH.

The switch to offer staking services is a huge step for Ethermine, which is largely known for operating a multi-currency mining pool that allows members to mine Ethereum (ETH), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Zcash, Ravecoin (RVN), Ergo (ERGO), and Beam (BEAM).

It is important to note that once the highly anticipated Ethereum merge upgrade takes place, Ethereum mining will no longer be required as previously required for the proof-of-work consensus mechanism that Ethereum currently use. After the merge, Ethereum will move to the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism that is geared towards staking rather than mining.

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Bitcoin risks dropping below $20k as the market retraces

Bitcoin continues to trade above $20k per coin but could decline soon if the broader market underperforms further.

Bitcoin, the world’s leading cryptocurrency, is currently trading at around $20,200 per coin. This comes after failing to surge past the $21k resistance level on Tuesday despite adding more than 3% to its value.

The broader cryptocurrency market has retraced after increasing its value by more than 4% yesterday. So far today, the crypto market has lost less than 1% of its value, with the total market cap now around $990 billion.

After failing to move past the $21k resistance level, Bitcoin is down by 1% in the last 24 hours. If the market continues to underperform, Bitcoin could drop below the $20k psychological level for the second time in a week.

Key levels to watch

The BTC/USD 4-hour chart is bearish as Bitcoin has been underperforming over the last 24 hours. The technical indicators show that Bitcoin is retracing after improving its performance yesterday.

The MACD line dropped into the negative zone on August 25th and has remained there ever since. Thus, indicating strong bearish momentum for Bitcoin.

The 14-day relative strength index of 50 shows that Bitcoin could head down into the oversold region if the bearish momentum continues. 

At press time, BTC is trading at $20,293 per coin. If the bearish trend continues, BTC could drop towards the $19,588 support level before the end of the day. 

Unless the bearish momentum thickens, BTC should maintain its position above the $18,950 support level in the short term.

However, the bearish grip is not tight, and the bulls might still regain control of the market. If that happens, BTC could move past the first major resistance level at $21,059. 

Unless there is an extended bullish performance, the second major resistance level at $22,722 should cap further upward movement in the short term. 

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Nexo commits additional $50M to buyback initiative

  • Nexo’s native token NEXO jumped more than 8% as the company announced an additional repurchase plan worth $50 million.
  • The repurchase starts immediately and will continue over the next six months.
  • Nexo completed a $100 million buyback program, launched in November 2021,  in May this year.

Digital assets platform Nexo has committed a further $50 million to its long-standing buyback program after the initiative received backing from the company’s Board of Directors, according to details shared on Tuesday.

The board’s approval allows the crypto lender to make discretionary and periodic repurchases of the native token NEXO, the firm announced.

With the $50 million commitment, Nexo is set to add to the $100 million buyback plan the company launched in November 2021, and which ended in May this year.

“The allocation of an additional $50 million to our buyback plan is a result of our solid liquidity position and Nexo’s ability and readiness to spur on its own products, token, and community, alongside its outward-facing initiatives of injecting liquidity into the industry,” said Nexo co-founder Antoni Trenchev.

The native token NEXO  

According to Nexo, the buyback will be from the open market and starts immediately. The firm also expects the program to continue for the next six months, with all token repurchases going into the company’s on-chain reserve for a vesting period of 12 months.

At the end of the lock-up period, Nexo could use the repurchased tokens to pay daily interest to customers via the native NEXO token. The platform could also use them in strategic investments through token mergers, with the deals incorporating vesting schemes to protect NEXO holders’ interests.

Currently, NEXO price is around $1.04, gaining by more than 8% in the past 24 hours and nearly 17% up over the past week. Despite the crypto bear market, the NEXO token is up by more than 43% over the past month.

So, although NEXO is down more than 70% from its all-time high above $4.00 reached in May 2021, demand for the token looks to be strong across the market.

“In these challenging market conditions, the NEXO Token has moved consistently with the likes of BTC and ETH, demonstrating that, proportionally, demand for our native asset remains strong. Right now, our investors and clients require solid ground to walk on, and our third token buyback ensures this added stability as we emerge from the latest market rollercoaster,” Trenchev added.

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