Bitcoin eyes June lows support at $17,500; Ethereum plummets

Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) left significant falls during the last 24 hours, riding the strength of the dollar and pressured by the problems detected with the update 'Bellatrix' of Ethereum, which prepares the blockchain for the event known as 'The Merge'. Specifically, the second currency by market capitalization loses 8% in 24 hours, to $1,500, while BTC drops more than 5%, gives up $19,000 and, more importantly, points to the June lows, at $17,500.

Investors are focused on the fact that despite the 'Bellatrix' upgrade being successfully completed on Tuesday, concerns were raised over a missed block rate of almost one in ten in the last 600 spaces. A worrying sign, as Ethereum's lost block rate jumped 1700% after the upgrade. The developer team will keep a close eye on the situation, as the merger is only a week away.

The Ethereum network participation rate also dropped after the update. According to experts, the drop can be attributed to the fact that some nodes did not update their clients. They believe that participation will increase as more validators bring their nodes up to speed for the recent upgrade.

This blockchain upgrade, in fact, marks the beginning of the 'Merge' that will be completed with the Paris upgrade -between September 15 and 19. Some media also cite that 5% of validators were disconnected during the event, which contributed to the 9% lost blockchain rate, according to Gnosis co-founder, Martin Köppelmann. This led some observers to question the network's readiness for the big shift to the proof-of-participation model from the current proof-of-work.

On the other hand, macroeconomic factors are also not helping Ether or the cryptoasset market in general. The Fed (Federal Reserve) is expected to continue its hawkish stance to address inflation and the dollar continues its rise, leading to a major bump in the cryptocurrency and equity markets in general.

Rising US bond yields were one of the themes in the early hours of last night, further buoying the US currency. The latest Bitcoin losses also come on the heels of good US employment and service sector data, indicating some resilience in the world's largest economy and further underpinning the Fed to continue its policy of aggressive rate hikes.