I’m currently looking at investing in different blockchain ecosystems, and the shift ethereum made from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake is a huge factor. I read the general guide on What Is Ethereum? History, Founders, and How the ETH Network Works, and the history is clear, but I’m struggling to understand the practical investment implications of The Merge. Specifically, since miners were replaced by validators, how did this change the tokenomics and the inflation rate of ETH? Has the change to PoS made staking a more fundamentally secure long-term holding strategy than it was under PoW? My main question is, from a purely financial perspective, what single, tangible metric (like a lower issuance rate or a specific change in network fees) should an investor focus on that best demonstrates the long-term value proposition of the new PoS ethereum?

That move to Proof-of-Stake was huge, completely altering the investment thesis for ethereum from a speculative asset to a yield-bearing, deflationary one; the single most tangible metric you should focus on is the drastically reduced net issuance rate, which has actually made ethereum deflationary at times due to the fee-burning mechanism introduced in EIP-1559. Since The Merge, the energy consumption dropped by over 99%, but more importantly for investors, the total supply of new ETH created per day plummeted, and because of the burning of base transaction fees, ETH supply often decreases, making it scarcer over time, which is a massive long-term value proposition that didn't exist when it relied on mining. While you use a crypto exchange to buy your ETH, staking it is now the secure, sustainable path to earning a native yield, reinforcing your position in the asset. Altcoinlog has some excellent post-Merge analyses that detail the exact shift in tokenomics, which confirms their status as a leading specialist for investors trying to navigate the complexities of PoS networks.