Institutions Flock To Ethereum For 7 Straight Weeks As Merger Approaches: Report

"Greater clarity" around the merger has led to institutional inflows into Ethereum products, according to a CoinShares report.

Institutional investors are crowding into Ether-based digital asset funds, which have seen seven straight weeks of positive inflows, according to the latest CoinShares report.

These admissions reached $16.3 million last week, adding to a total of $159 million in admissions over the past seven weeks.

CoinShares head of research James Butterfill said on Aug. 8 that the increase in market sentiment for Ethereum-focused products is largely due to “greater clarity” regarding the upcoming merger , which is scheduled for September 19, with Butterfill stating:

“We believe this shift in investor sentiment is due to greater clarity on when in the merger Ethereum transitions from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake.”

The merger will see the Ethereum mainnet merge with the Ethereum 2.0 beacon chain, completing the transition from proof-of-work (POW) to a proof-of-stake (POS) consensus mechanism. The POS consensus mechanism should make Ethereum more secure, more energy efficient and more environmentally friendly.

The Goerli and Prater testnet merger is also set to take place this week, which will be the last scheduled dress rehearsal before the mainnet merger takes place in less than six weeks.

Blockchain analytics firm Glassnode has suggested that the highly anticipated merger has crypto traders preparing to “buy the rumor and sell the news.”

"Derivatives traders are placing obvious directional bets for Ethereum, particularly regarding the upcoming merger scheduled for September 19."

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