Topline
Ether, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, is flirting with new highlights on Tuesday thanks to a booming institutional adoption as its larger rival, bitcoin, struggles to scare back huge losses.
The world’s second largest cryptocurrency has increased by 30% in the past week alone.
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Key Facts
As of 4:30 pm EST, the price of ether has increased by 14% over the last 24 hours, adding $ 20 billion to its market value (currently $ 160 billion) and settling at around $ 1,400 per ticket after surpassed a record high at around $ 1,433 as of January 2018, according to crypto data company CoinMarketCap.
Over the past week, the cryptocurrency underpinned by the ethereum blockchain network has increased more than 28% while bitcoin prices – still 10% off their peak after last week’s crash – have edged at only 5%.
That outperforms earnings among other top tokens, including XRP Ripple, litecoin and bitcoin cash, which are up 1%, 14% and 11% in the past week, respectively.
The Ether surge has been fueled in part by an explosion of devolved funding (nicknamed “DeFi”) on the ethereum blockchain, notes MyEtherWallet chief operating officer Brian Norton, highlighting a 20-fold increase in value used ether tokens to back. such loans – from $ 1 billion in February to $ 20.5 billion currently.
“Ethereum has over five times the number of active developers like bitcoin, and adds developers at a faster clip every day,” Norton adds, noting that increased developer activity typically triggers demand for the native token.
Essential Quote
“Bitcoin is higher today but completely underperforming its competitors – with ether, litecoin and many others all surging as crypto investors anticipate a consolidation phase for the world’s largest cryptocurrency,” said Oanda Senior Market Analyst Edward Moya, on Tuesday, citing “balloon deflation” and continued inflationary pressures continue to send the broader crypto market higher despite heightened warnings from regulators. “The cryptoverse is growing again, and many cryptocurrency traders are currently diversifying into other coins fearing that bitcoin could see another fall if $ 41,500 is not reached sometime soon.”
Chief Judge
President-elect Joe Biden’s Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen called cryptocurrencies a “particular concern” in terms of “funding tech terrorism” at her Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday morning before announcing a call for more regulation in space – something Wall observers Street noted that it could tank cryptocurrencies. “I think a lot is used, at least in a transactional sense, mainly for illegal financing, and I think we really need to explore ways in which we can reduce their use and make sure anti-laundering is not money happening through those channels. , ”Yellen, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve, said Tuesday.
Key Background
The cryptocurrency market’s massive rally has been fueled largely by inflation and institutional adoption concerns, but the booming rally came to a sudden halt last Sunday. The total market value of cryptocurrencies fell from a peak of $ 1.1 trillion to $ 900 billion in just hours after a UK report Sunday Times throw light on the enforcement measures that banks, including HSBC, are taking to pass bar of cryptocurrency exchanges in the country. The market value of each ticket is currently just over $ 1 trillion.
Surprise Fact
“Only once in the last seven years has bitcoin increased in the fourth quarter and then risen again in the following quarter,” said William Quigley, a cryptocurrency fund manager and cofounder of Tether, the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. “Historically, the first quarter has been the worst quarter for bitcoin, with it falling in price in five of the last seven years.”
Further reading
Bitcoin’s Recent Surge Creates New Billionaires (Forbes)
Crypto Market Eliminates $ 200 Billion in 24 Hour Market Value; Regulator warns investors could ‘lose all money’ (Forbes)