Ethereum surges ahead of anticipated Merge

Ether has gained 48% over the past seven days, outperforming Bitcoin, which has only managed to achieve 19% in the same period

Ethereum is outperforming the broader cryptocurrency market as the highly anticipated Merge approaches, but the bigger picture is still largely bearish.

Ether (ETH) has gained a whopping 48% over the past seven days, outperforming Bitcoin (BTC), which has only managed to achieve 19% in the same period. It’s also up 66% from its market cycle bottom of $918 on June 19, reaching its current price of $1549.

However, the current ETH rally could be a bull trap with the macroeconomic clouds darkening.

The primary driver of recent momentum for the asset has been linked to announcements regarding its final switch to proof-of-stake (PoS), which has been slated for Sept. 19.

On Tuesday, a Coinbase report on the Merge explained that the next major step and last dress rehearsal is the Goerli testnet Merge, which has been planned for August 11.

Goerli is the most tested Ethereum environment with the most user activity and the closest simulation of the real thing.

While the major upgrade is the fundamental driver of current ETH market sentiment, the asset is still trading down 68% from its November 2021 all-time high.

There have also been concerns that a significant amount of ETH may flood the market after the Merge and its release from its staking smart contracts.

According to a recent survey by Finder, conducted before the most recent rally, there is still a lot of negative sentiment regarding short-term Ether prices.

The panel of 54 industry experts polled thought ETH would be worth $1,711 by the end of 2022, climbing to $5,739 by 2025, before hitting $14,412 by 2030. However, they also thought it would dump to $675 before the year was out.

Finder said there are a couple of macroeconomic factors that could cause this retreat. The United States Federal Reserve is expected to hike rates again by 75 basis points during their July 26-27 meeting, which is generally bearish for crypto markets. If Bitcoin (BTC) takes a dive, Ether is sure to follow.