Notably, Ethereum suffered an immediate downtrend following the Merge upgrade, which was expected to drive more interest in Ethereum after the network officially transitioned to the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) protocol and make ETH a deflationary asset and potentially attract institutional capital.  Discussing the benefits of the shift, senior commodity strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence Mike McGlone noted on Twitter on October 26 that Ethereum’s commanding position at the hub of the digitization of banking and money may serve as a foundation for price appreciation. McGlone added: 

Over $20 billion pumps into Ethereum in 24 hours 

Given the asset’s recent bullish move, Ethereum saw over $20 billion flow into its market capitalization in less than 24 hours, from $164.42 billion on October 25 to $185.06 billion on October 26. Currently, the DeFi asset is trading at $1,518, up double figures on the day with a gain of 11.11% and a further 16.75% across the previous week, according to data acquired by Finbold. Notably, the supply of Ethereum in circulation has been decreasing since the Merge with the asset slowly becoming deflationary. Suppose historical patterns from 2016-2017 are any indicator. In that case, Ethereum could be in for one of the largest bull markets in the history of the crypto industry, according to a tweet published by the pseudonymous crypto analyst Moustache on October 11. Finally, investment giant Fidelity recently announced plans to offer institutional users access to Ethereum transactions, allowing them to buy, sell, and transfer the asset as of October 28, in a decision that was driven by the success of the network’s recent Merge upgrade. Disclaimer: The content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing, your capital is at risk.