The world's leading cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), fell on Thursday, with the ETH diving 9% following the so-called "Merge." Earlier, it was known that the Ethereum blockchain switched from a proof-of-work (PoW) model to a proof-of-stake (PoS) model. Despite this development, some analysts regard the "Merge" as a typical case of sell-the-fact trade, in which previous expectations surpassed reality.
On the other side, both ETH and BTC might respond to mixed signals sent by the most recent publication of economic data on retail sales, business inventories, and industrial production from the United States. In theory, cryptos should trade independently, but they have proven to be highly correlated with other risk-sensitive assets, such as stocks.
Bitcoin fell by 2.03%, selling for $19,829, while Ether dropped 9.02% to go for $1,492 at 11:46 am ET.
