• Ether has soared 50% over the last month, while bitcoin is up about 16% in the same stretch. 
  • Enthusiasm has been building around ethereum's so-called merge, which could happen in September.
  • Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin has voiced his support on Twitter for proof-of-stake protocols for cryptocurrencies. 

Over the last month, ether has significantly outperformed bitcoin as enthusiasm grows ahead of the highly anticipated "merge" event for Ethereum 2.0.

The second-largest cryptocurrency was hovering around $1,575 on Friday, up about 50% from a month ago. In the same stretch, bitcoin — the biggest cryptocurrency by market cap — is up about 16.6%, trading around $23,296. 

Ether still has taken losses during 2022's bear market. Even with this month's big rally, the token is down about 58% on the year. It hit a recent high of $1,620 on July 20, according to data from TradingView, although last November it soared as high as $4,800.

Recent comments from an Ethereum Foundation member renewed enthusiasm for ether and its corresponding ethereum blockchain, which will transition from the energy-intensive, proof-of-work consensus mechanism to the more efficient proof-of-stake model. 

This so-called merge event could come in September, based on Tim Beiko's comments. 

He clarified that nothing yet was finalized in the schedule. The proposal for the merge event has been discussed since the ethereum blockchain first launched in 2015. 

Today, only the Solana and Tezos blockchains have proof-of-stake mechanisms. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has voiced his support for proof-of-stake protocols on Twitter. 

Meanwhile in April, ethereum tested out the proof-of-stake mechanism in what was known as the "shadow fork," to experiment with logistics and client readiness. The trial has since been repeated twice. 

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