• Chainalysis has projected a strong price rally of Ethereum post-merge

• The soft date for the Merge is on September 19
• Ethereum is gaining and looks set back to $2,000

Ethereum ETH/USD will lead other cryptocurrencies in price after the Merge, according to Chainalysis data. The on-chain analysis firm says the yields that will come after the Merge will attract institutional investors. Chainalysis says increased institutional entry could see Ethereum challenge Bitcoin for the top spot.

Amid the Chainalysis report, the Ethereum ecosystem has been growing thanks to the expected Merge. Institutional stakers have grown from just 200 in January 2021 to top 1,000 at the end of last month. The increased institutional flow indicates growing trust in the blockchain post-merge.

Ahead of the Merge, which is expected around September 19, Ethereum is recovering. At press time, the cryptocurrency was trading up 8.12% in 24 hours and clinging to $1,630. Ethereum developers finalized the first of the two-step process in the Merge on September 6. That could be giving the bullish boosts being witnessed currently.

Ethereum initiates recovery ahead of the Merge

Source: TradingView

Technically, Ethereum lacks a directional movement after a 50% retracement from the $2,000 level. Still, the price can be considered bullish in a wide bearish market. The 20-day moving average has joined the support. The token is still below the 50-day MA. The RSI shows that ETH is neither overbought nor oversold.

Summary

While Ethereum is gaining momentum ahead of the expected Merge, it lacks a directional movement. We cannot tell with certainty that the price will rise to $2,000 in the next few days. Nonetheless, with the benefits of the expected Merge, Ethereum remains a cryptocurrency to hold. Investors should monitor the price movements to buy potential retracements.