Ethereum Market Update: ETH/USD sluggish as Ice Age fears mount
- The Ice Age is a period of transition in the Ethereum network where mining will difficult and complicated.
- The number of Ethereum coins produced per day has continued to tank from January 2019.
Ethereum Foundation is working towards the migration Ethereum network from the Proof of Work (PoW) consensus to Proof of Stake (PoS). However, the network’s block difficulty started growing in November 2016. The developers have since been executing hard forks to ensure the network continues to the time the migration is executed.
Ice Age refers to stage of transition where mining of new Ether coins will be extremely complicated due to a ‘difficulty bomb’ concept integrated in the current PoW. Casper, a new network would ensure that the Ice Age is averted. In theory miners were to shift to the new network but the development of the PoS algorithm continues to delayed.
On the other hand, the difficulty bomb is nearing explosion. The hard forks carried keep the miners within the network. However, the Ice Age is beckoning and the project explosion in 2021 might come earlier.
Mining within the network has been dropping from 20,000 ETH produced in January to the current 11,872 ETH on daily basis. The supply continues to go down amid an exodus of miners who find mining difficulty to be extremely unprofitable.
In the meantime, Ethereum is trading at $145. It is dancing within a wider range between $143.65 and $152.92. All technical levels point towards a continuing sideways trading. Ethereum must correct above $150 and push towards $160 to avert declines that could test $140.
ETH/USD 1-hor chart
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Author
John Isige
FXStreet
John Isige is a seasoned cryptocurrency journalist and markets analyst committed to delivering high-quality, actionable insights tailored to traders, investors, and crypto enthusiasts. He enjoys deep dives into emerging Web3 tren
