Cryptoverse: Ether snaps at bitcoin's heels in race for crypto crown

The Merge, expected to take place on Thursday, could lead to wider use of the blockchain, potentially boosting ether's price - although nothing is certain in a capricious crypto market

For years, ether could barely dream of challenging its big brother bitcoin. Now, its ambitions may be becoming more realistic.

The second-biggest cryptocurrency is taking market share from bitcoin ahead of an all-important "Merge" software upgrade that could sharply reduce the energy usage of its Ethereum blockchain, should the developers pull it off in coming days.
 

Bitcoin's dominance, or its share of the crypto market's market value, has slipped to 39.1% from this year's peak of 47.5% in mid-June, according to data platform CoinMarketCap.
 

Ether, on the other hand, has climbed to 20.5% from 16%.
 

The upstart is still a long