Ethereum [ETH] appears to be stepping up a notch after dropping to sub $1400 levels towards the end of August. This is reflected in ETH’s performance in recent days as the anticipation of the Merge continues to attract investors.
According to CoinMarketCap, on 11 September, ETH was trading at $1,770 after another impressive performance on the price chart.
ETH storms into September
The altcoin showed over 2.75% daily gain on 11 September. Thus, adding to the 10.5% weekly gains. This run has increased the optimism among traders who are eyeing for Ethereum to break the $1,800 resistance line soon enough.
The anticipation surrounding the Merge is also shown in ETH 2.0 deposits. According to Glassnode, the total value in the ETH 2.0 deposit contract reached an all-time high (ATH) of 13,634,077 ETH on 11 September.
This underlines the growing belief in the crypto community for Ethereum’s transition to a Proof-of-Stake consensus.
Source: Glassnode
What else does the data say?
The recent price increase was further shown in Ethereum’s MVRV ratio. After remaining in the red zone for much of September, trader profitability is back up again on the chart.
This is an encouraging sign for ETH traders as they look to get the best returns for their holdings. The MVRV ratio for Ethereum stood at 7.5%, at press time. Thus, hinting that a period of relief was underway.
Source: Santiment
Furthermore, according to the analytic firm Santiment, the supply held by top addresses (ETH) has released over one million ETH from their holdings.
The total worth of this fall would be close to $1.77 billion within a span of over 15 days. Moreover, this drop holds massive importance because whale addresses are often defined as “market makers.” 
Source: Santiment
Another caution was released recently with the Ethereum miners calling out the Merge transition.
As per Chandler Guo, a concerned Ethereum miner, “Miners will be broke” if the Merge goes through successfully. So the issues around the Merge continue to surface even two days before the launch. We will have to wait and see what comes of it eventually as we close in on D-Day.
