Cryptocurrency ether on track for best month since 2021, price up over 50% in July

livemint.com:

Ether, the coin linked to the ethereum blockchain and the second largest cryptocurrency, is headed toward its best month since 2021 amid a revival of risk appetite in global markets and optimism about an Ethereum network upgrade.

Ether price have rallied over 50%, as per CoinGecko, which has surged as the crypto industry awaits the blockchain’s biggest transition, also called the Merge, which could take place in September after being kicked down the road for several years.

The Merge is set to take Ethereum to a system called Proof of Stake, in which staked Ether tokens will order transactions, from its current system called Proof of Work, a mechanism which uses powerful computers to order transactions.

This week, Ethereum developers have signaled continued progress in testing the new system, and they are holding a series of events for prospective stakers and other community members in the coming weeks. 

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin revealed that the Ether network will be 55% complete once they finish the upgradation of Merge. Earlier this month, Ethereum Foundation member Tim Beiko suggested September 19 as the provisional launch date for the Merge.

Soon, the current Ethereum Mainnet will merge with the Beacon Chain proof-of-stake system. This will mark the end of proof-of-work for Ethereum, and the full transition to proof-of-stake. This sets the stage for future scaling upgrades including sharding. The Merge will reduce Ethereum's energy consumption by around 99.95%, it claims in its website.

Meanwhile the broader crypto market continued to benefit from traders dialing back wagers on Federal Reserve hikes after an ugly economic reading fueled concern about a US recession.

The original Ethereum was pushed