Bitcoin faces $25,000 and Ethereum awaits key decision about 'The Merge'

The cryptocurrency market holds much of Wednesday's gains for the major tokens, in the heat of softer inflation in the US - 8.5% versus 9.1% previously - which boosted Bitcoin and Ethereum prices more than 4%. Gains are 7% for BTC in 24 hours and 12% for ETH, while total capitalization exceeds $1.16 trillion.

"Traders believe the time has come to discard any recession worries as inflation has peaked in the US," commented Naeem Aslam, analyst at Avatrade, while the labor market remains as strong as it can be. He warned, however, that "it is important for traders not to lose control of risk, as comments from the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will continue to be the main denominator in the rally."

The negative news from the crypto space has been overshadowed by this fact, but only a day earlier digital currencies were weighed down by Coinbase's poor results, which lost more than $1 billion in the second quarter, and by reports of receiverships and company bankruptcies, that are not ceasing in the market. However, as some analysts, such as Craig Erlam of Oanda, predicted, the good news has served as a catalyst for Bitcoin to continue its rally and finally try to reach $25,000. For now, the highs are at $24,500.

As for the second-largest coin by market capitalization, it is eagerly advancing on its way to $2,000. ETH investors have their own dose of encouraging information. The Ethereum network has successfully conducted the last test before the consensus change from the current proof-of-work to proof-of-participation, an event highly anticipated by the market.

This was confirmed by Ansgar Dietrichs, researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, in a series of tweets.

He also echoed the success of the final test before the event known as 'The Merge', whereby the new protocol test chain will be merged with the main network chain, Christine Kim, of Galaxy Digital. "A successful merge = the chain ends," Kim wrote in a tweet, adding that there was a problem that may come to be seen in the final merge, "but the idea is that 'The Merge' worked."

Ethereum core developers will meet on Thursday to decide when exactly they will release the upgrade on the Ethereum blockchain. Previous forecasts were that 'The Merge' would be made official around mid-September, with the 19th being the most likely date.

In the last 30 days, the value of Ether, the native currency of the Ethereum blockchain, has risen nearly 80%, with a 10% increase in the last 24 hours alone. It now trades at around $1,875. However, year-over-year declines of around 50% persist.