ETH is up by 6% today ahead of the Merge

Ether is up by more than 6% in the last 24 hours as the Ethereum community gears for the upcoming Merge event.

ETH, the native coin of the Ethereum blockchain, is up by more than 6% in the last 24 hours. Thus, making it the best performer amongst the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap.

Ether’s rally comes as the broader crypto market has been performing well over the last 24 hours. The total market cap currently stands around $1 trillion, up by more than 2% today.

Bitcoin continues to struggle to move past the $20k psychological level despite the broader crypto market performing well so far today. BTC has added more than 1% to its value in the last 24 hours.

Ether’s positive performance comes as the Ethereum community gets ready for the Merge event. The Merge event will see the Ethereum blockchain migrate from a proof-of-work (PoW) mechanism to a proof-of-stake (PoS).

The Merge is slated to take place between September 10-20, meaning that it is only a few days away. The transition is designed to make the Ethereum network faster, more scalable, and reduce the cost of transactions.

Key levels to watch

The ETH/USD 4-hour chart is bullish as Ether has been performing really well over the past 24 hours. ETH’s positive performance is better than the other major cryptocurrencies.

The MACD line crossed into the positive zone yesterday, a shift from the bearish tone the market had taken in recent days. 

The 14-day RSI of 67 shows that ETH is heading towards the overbought region if the rally can be sustained.

At press time, ETH is trading at $1,670 per coin. If the bulls remain in charge ahead of the Merge, ETH could surge past the $1,782 resistance level over the next few hours or days.

In the event of an extended bullish run, ETH could cross the $2,000 psychological level for the first time this month.