Ethereum, the most popular cryptocurrency in the world next to Bitcoin, has succeeded in launching the most awaited "Merge" event.

It aims to reduce the carbon footprint - a rare move coming from the blockchain industry.

Despite the successful transition to proof-of-stake, the price of the said crypto has remained bearish on Thursday, Sept. 15.

Ethereum Goes 'Green' During 'The Merge'

(Photo : GuerrillaBuzz Crypto PR from Unsplash)
Despite the success of the Ethereum merge, the cryptocurrency could not manage to achieve the bullish phase in the market.

According to Ethereum Foundation, a known nonprofit that backs up ETH, the Merge aims to reduce energy consumption by about 99.95%.

It's interesting to know how far this organization could go in supporting this blockchain asset's environment-friendly cycle despite the community's emerging issues.

To give you an idea of how the Merge goes, imagine it as a huge transition of using energy-efficient computers to generate Ethereum. In short, it jumps to the "proof-of-stake" mechanism from the "proof-of-work" mechanism.

Per CNN, Deutsche Bank research analyst Marion Laboure said that this shift would pave the way for security improvement, increase the network users, market cap growth, and reduction in energy usage of Ethereum.

According to Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, the event's success is a "big moment" for the entire blockchain ecosystem. He acknowledged that everyone should be proud of their achievements this week.

Additionally, Buterin said the software upgrade would contribute to the 0.2% decrease in global electricity consumption.

Ethereum Transaction is Bad For the Environment

Over the past years, environmentalists have been aware of crypto transactions' harm.

Digiconomist, a platform that measures the energy consumption index of a cryptocurrency, notes that one ETH transaction is similar to the weekly electricity consumption of an average household in the United States.

Last week, the platform tweeted that the energy reduction from the merger could likely be "equivalent to the electrical energy consumption of Portugal."

With that being said, the switch of Ethereum to PoS will likely yield no benefit to the environment. It's opposite to what the backers claim about the event.

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Ethereum Price Falls Below $1,600 Amid Merge

Although the Ethereum Merge was a success, it failed to have a lasting impact on the declining price of the cryptocurrency.

Decrypt reported that the adjustment from POW to POS only pushed ETH's price to go lower. The bearish trend remains to be the name of the game for Ethereum.

For some time, it managed to stay at $1,643 on Wednesday, Sept. 14, before plummeting to under the $1,600 mark the following day.

At the time, the trading volume of the cryptocurrency sits at $25.5 billion, a 10% day-to-day increase. Meanwhile, its market cap reaches more than $194 billion.

Read Also: SEC to Setup New Office for Cryptocurrency Filings-Focusing on New Regulations for Blockchain?

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Written by Joseph Henry