LDO, ETC, and OP Rally After the ETH Merge Announcement
The announcement of the Ethereum merge led to a rally in various altcoins, such as the Ethereum Classic, Optimism, and Lido Dao. However, analysts are still evaluating if the rally is sustainable.
Lido (LDO), Ethereum Classic (ETC), and Optimism (OP) Gain
The recent rally due to the Ethereum Merge has also led to the rally of various other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum Classic, Optimism, and LDO. These have all posted strong gains in the past couple of weeks.
Earlier, the successful Goerli testnet boosted Ethereum holders’ sentiment regarding the merge’s potential outcome. ETH also reflected this sentiment in the PoW network Ethereum Classic prices. Although Vitalik Buterin supports the Ethereum Classic network, he urged network participants and users to migrate to the chain’s proof-of-work consensus mechanism.
Due to the recent rally in the price of Ethereum, the performance of the platform known as Lido DAO has been impressive. It gained about 15% in the past two weeks. Since the platform Lido DAO is a leading provider of smart contract staking services, it has secured over 4 million ETH in the Eth2 contract. It has also been able to stake over 1.55 million ETH on behalf of its clients.
Ethereum Classic Might Test the $80 Level
The emergence of the Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism and the growing infrastructure of Ethereum Classic have caught the attention of investors. According to Vitalik Buterin, the increasing popularity of the project is a good sign for the future.
For miners on the Ethereum network, the PoW network is a refuge. However, as the merge draws closer, the rally may get priced in, preventing it from being sustainable. On the other hand, the likelihood of a continued up trend remains high due to the miners’ choice of transferring to the Etctether network.
Currently, the price of Ethereum Classic is trading at around $41.86. Although it’s holding above an ascending channel’s lower boundary, it’s clear that the rally is not yet over. The bullish divergence exhibited by the stochastic oscillator suggests that the price will continue to increase.
The next challenge for the price is at $52.00, a seller’s congestion area that started a multi-month decline in March. Resistance above this area will allow the price to test the $80 mark. On the other hand, the daily chart of Ethereum Classic shows that the price has been supported by a buy signal from the Super Trend indicator. As long as the index trails the price, the price may continue increasing.
Optimism (OP) Might Reach $2.245
Optimism, an Ethereum roll-up service aggregating mass transaction data, has gained 10% in the past two weeks. The founders geared the platform’s roadmap toward increasing efficiency and scalability.
Analysts expect that the OP price will see substantial gains following the company’s announcement of its transition to a proof-of-stake. OP price might reach a target of $2.245 by the end of the year. Since the token price has crossed the psychological level of $1.54, it might bounce higher.
Bitcoin Price Performance
Bitcoin started to fall on August 12 as investors anticipated a potential reversal from recent highs. Data from TradingView showed the price of the digital currency dropping to around $23,615 before the opening of the US market. That marked a 24-hour loss of about 5%.
The pair rose to its highest level since June 13 as investors became more optimistic about the US inflation outlook and news that asset manager BlackRock was planning on launching a Bitcoin-focused private fund.
Although some commentators noted that Bitcoin could test the $30,000 resistance level, others remained cautious. They also believed that a fresh bear market could develop.
