Ethereum Up Over 10% As Bellatrix Upgrade Goes Live

Ethereum is reacting favourably to recent news of the Bellatrix hard fork. The ultimate Merge is less than two weeks away, but the last preparatory exercise before its eventual advent is the Bellatrix upgrade. As news of the Bellatrix hard fork surfaced, ETH has surged by 6% in just 24 hours, up over 10% in the week in an otherwise bearish atmosphere.

Bellatrix, the first half of the Merge is live

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin took to Twitter to remind the community of the Bellatrix hard fork. Buterin noted that the date for the Merge has not changed, as it is still slated for September 13 to 15. Notwithstanding, Buterin mentioned that the community should expect the Bellatrix hard fork on Tuesday.

“What’s happening today is the Bellatrix hard fork, which *prepares* the chain for the merge. Still important though – make sure to update your clients!” he said.

When The Merge occurs, the PoW Ethereum mainnet will fuse with the PoS Beacon Chain. This will transition Ethereum to a full-blown proof-of-stake blockchain. Nonetheless, Bellatrix is the hard fork of the Beacon Chain and is the last preparatory move before the Merge.

Being the first half of the Merge, Bellatrix is meant to prepare the Ethereum blockchain for the ultimate transition to PoS. After the Bellatrix hard fork, the last exercise to usher in the Merge is the Paris upgrade. The Bellatrix hard fork had been successfully executed at the time of reporting.

ETH has ridden on reports of the Bellatrix hard fork above $1,600

Amidst reports of the soon-to-be Bellatrix hard fork, Ethereum (ETH) rose by over 6% in just 24 hours. This comes when the markets struggle to recover from the effects of the recently-induced lousy macro.

Despite the increasing rate of bearish sentiments, ETH retained its position above the support at $1,500. In the past seven days, the asset only dipped below $1,500 on August 30, following Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s hawkish comments. ETH bounced back almost immediately to close the day above $1,500.

Consolidation in this zone has persisted till now. Despite not revisiting the levels below $1,500, ETH had not touched the $1,600 zone until recently. As reports of the Bellatrix hard fork surfaced, the asset surged above $1,600 and is currently trading at $1,671 at the time of reporting. With Bellatrix currently live, ETH has continued in its relief rally.