SummaryEthereum rallied last week ahead of Merge update.Developers debunk lower gas fees on the chain.Futures market hits an all-time high for open interest.Risk and reward could come down to outside factors.Ethereum (ETH-USD) heads for a blockchain update in September and this article explains the recent developments and outlook for the coin.Ethereum breaks market correlation ahead of the MergeThe Ethereum price was around 7% higher over the last week ahead of the blockchain's imminent Merge upgrade. The price was able to break its correlation with Bitcoin (BTC-USD) and the broader market with the former losing nearly 1%.Ether is moving towards a momentous switch from a Proof of Work to Proof of Stake architecture and developers have touted a 99.95% reduction in energy usage for the chain. The network's developers have been planning the transition for years and on December 1, 2020, the Beacon Chain was created, which has run as a parallel chain to the Mainnet.The date set for the Merge is around September 15th and there has been much speculation about how the token would behave in the days running up to the event.Developers shoot down hopes of lower gas feesOne of the many benefits that have been touted for the Merge upgrade is a reduction in gas fees. Ethereum users have had to stomach problems with high costs for transacting on the blockchain. That became more of a problem after the 2020 rise in decentralized finance projec...
