The historic Merge upgrade on the Ethereum network has so far failed to trigger a price rally for the second-ranked cryptocurrency by market capitalization (1). However, the bullish environment created by the upgrade appears to be part of the catalyst driving users to the platform.
According to data from Etherescan, daily addresses in the Ethereum network have increased by 86,945 since September 15, which is about 5.1 percent of the total number of addresses.
The new unique addresses show that more people are exploring Ethereum as they experiment with decentralized finance.
The Merge upgrade to the Ethereum network, which transitioned it to the Proof-of-Work (PoS) protocol, has the potential to make Ethereum a deflationary asset. This would be an interesting development for investors, especially in the current macroeconomic environment characterized by skyrocketing inflation and interest rate hikes.
The number of unique addresses on the Ethereum network has grown significantly since the upgrade. According to a report from Finbold on October 10, 135,780 new addresses joined the network on October 8, an increase from the previous record set in December of 2021. At the same time, social activity declined after the upgrade—social mentions had decreased by 8.46 million, and 24.07 billion engagements were recorded as of October 6.
Despite the fact that the upgrade was expected to spur a rally in Ether and the crypto market overall, so far, it has turned out to be a “buy the rumor, sell the news” event. Overall, the Ethereum community is anticipating growth in its utility and price. However, it continues to be at the mercy of buyers and sellers struggling to take charge due to uncertainty about which direction things will go. By press time, ETH was valued at $1,310, gaining by almost 8% in the last 24 hours.
