CRYPTOCURRENCY PRICES UPDATES: As the time counted down to a significant software upgrade of Ethereum, the most significant blockchain in terms of commerce in the digital asset space, cryptocurrency prices fluctuated within narrow bands. 

The biggest and most well-known cryptocurrency in the world, Bitcoin, was trading more than 1 percent lower at USD 20,016 as the price slide continued. According to CoinGecko, the global crypto market valuation today exceeded USD 1 trillion despite having been nearly unchanged over the previous 24 hours at USD 1.03 trillion.

The second-largest cryptocurrency, Ether, which is connected to the Ethereum blockchain, was trading flat at USD 1,592. With regard to its consensus protocol, Ethereum is switching to proof-of-stake. Greater adoption of the blockchain may result from The Merge, which is anticipated to be finished in the following few hours after multiple delays.

"Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin has continued to trade below the USD 20,500 level, showing that the bulls have not been active enough to take control of the market. The limited volume of purchases supports the sellers' pressure. Buyers may be able to push BTC above the USD 20,575 mark, which might lead to some potential upward growth. 

Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, doesn't appear to be trending either way. The transition of Ethereum to PoS may be the cause of this volatility in the cryptocurrency market. It appears that BTC and ETH are getting ready for a significant price movement as the Merge nears, according to Edul Patel, CEO and Co-Founder of Mudrex.

The price of Dogecoin was also somewhat lower today at USD 0.06, while the price of Shiba Inu dropped by around 3 percent to USD 0.000012. As prices for XRP, Uniswap, Solana, Polygon, Avalanche, Binance USD, Polkadot, Tether, Litecoin, Chainlink, Apecoin, Cardano, Stellar, and Tron have been falling over the past 24 hours, other cryptocurrencies' performance today has also decreased.

Because of the uncertainty about how far central banks would raise interest rates in the face of a weakening global economy, Bitcoin has been trapped in the trading area with the narrowest spread. The Terra/Luna ecosystem's meltdown and the collapse of the hedge fund Three Arrows Capital have both dampened sentiment, and many crypto companies have gone out of business or are battling to stay afloat.

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