How sustainable is Ethereum Classic after Ethereum Merge?

Ethereum Classic saw a 280% rise in hash rate after Ethereum Merge
The cryptocurrency surged after the Ethereum Merge but has since retraced
ETC lacks a directional bias as price slides

Ethereum finally completed a successful move from a Proof-of-Work blockchain to Proof-of-Stake. Immediately after the shift, tokens of PoW platforms such as Ethereum Classic ETC/USD rose. The cryptocurrency has since retreated with losses of 5.28% in the last 24 hours. Does that indicate a lack of sustainability in post-merge gains?

Ethereum Classic was one of the platforms expected to attract PoW miners after the Merge. On Thursday, immediately after the Merge, the hash rate on the protocol rose to 183 terahashes per second. That suggests a 280% increase in the crypto mining productivity in just 24 hours. It should, however, be noted that Ethereum Classic’s hashrate has increased by 500% in 30 days. Miners had already been positioning themselves for the post-merge situation. Hash rate on other PoW blockchains, such as Ergo blockchain and Ravencoin, has also surged.

There are possible scenarios to explain the depleted gains in ETC after the Ethereum Merge. First, ETC is trading close to a 5-month high, despite most tokens remaining subdued. Although we can’t discount further post-Merge gains, the price may have already factored in the developments.

A more profound factor preventing ETC’s post-Merge growth is the crypto sentiment. Across the board, cryptocurrencies are in the red following a more than-anticipated inflation. Consequently, ETC’s potential gains should be examined within the broader crypto sector.

ETC price movements and prediction post-Merge

eToro

eToro is one of the world’s leading multi-asset trading platforms offering some of the lowest commission and fee rates in the industry. It’s social copy trading features make it a great choice for those getting started.

Buy ETC with eToro today

Binance

Binance is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. It is better suited to more experienced investors and it offers a large number of cryptocurrencies to choose from, at over 600. Binance is also known for having low trading fees and a multiple of trading options that its users can benefit from, such as; peer-to-peer trading, margin trading and spot trading.

Buy ETC with Binance today

Source – TradingView

On the technical front, Ethereum Classic lacks a directional movement. The price has clashed below the moving averages but trades at a $34 support level. ETC must overcome a further drop below the support to consider a bullish bias.