Ether officially turns deflationary amid intense crypto-market fear

Quick Take

  • The total supply of ether has officially decreased for the first time since The Merge.

Ether, the native coin of the Ethereum network, officially turned deflationary 55 days after The Merge — its transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake.

The post-Merge supply of ether has declined by over 400 ETH ($469,000), as of 5:35 a.m. ET, according to the Ethereum supply tracking website ultrasound.money. Ethereum's deflation rate is currently 0.001% annually.

Were the Merge never to have taken place and Ethereum remained proof-of-work, the total supply of ether would have increased by over 650,000 ETH ($762 million) with an inflation rate of nearly 3.6%.

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Though Ethereum proponents are widely pleased to see the total ether supply decrease, it comes at a worrying time for the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry. Following a withdrawal freeze, FTX announced its intention to sell to rival crypto exchange Binance after apparently turning insolvent. The high-profile event has spurred selling in the crypto markets as fears of widespread contagion spread.


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About Author

Adam is the managing editor for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He is based in central Europe and was a managing editor and podcast host at the crypto exchange OKX's former research arm, OKX Insights. Before that, he co-founded BeInCrypto.com, which he elevated into one of the leading crypto media brands at its peak as the editor-in-chief. Earlier, he served as the editor-in-chief at Bitcoinist.com. Before joining the blockchain and crypto industry, he worked for Looper.com, Grunge.com and SVG.com. He tweets via @XBT002 and can be emailed at [email protected].

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