Report: Expect Ethereum To Lose the #2 Spot to Tether (USDT) in 2021

John P. Njui   •   THEREUM (ETH) NEWS • DEFI   •   OCTOBER 9, 2020

Quick take:

• The team at Bloomberg has predicted that Ethereum could lose the number 2 spot to Tether (USDT) by next year
• Increasing demand and adoption of stablecoins is the major force behind Tether’s rise
• Stablecoins are a precursor of CBDCs and will most likely be more enduring than altcoins
• Ethereum has had a relatively stagnant market cap since 2017 when compared to Tether

The team at Bloomberg has released the October crypto outlook report in which they predict that Tether (USDT) will most likely edge out Ethereum from the number two spot according to market capitalization.

The report explains that there is a growing demand for both Bitcoin and crypto-assets that resemble the dollar. If this trend prevails, USDT will definitely continue to grow. Additionally, the increased adoption of stable coins is also a strong signal that Central Bank Digital Currencies will be launched in the near future.

Expect Bitcoin #1, Tether #2 in 2021 If Trends Remain the Same.

Indicating demand for a digital version of gold (Bitcoin) and a crypto-asset like the dollar, if current trends prevail, the market cap of Tether may surpass Ethereum next year.

Increasing adoption of stable coins is likely a precursor for central bank digital currencies and promises to be more enduring than alt-coin speculative excesses. The rapid rise in the market cap of stable coins indicates that central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are a matter of time, in our view.

Ethereum’s Market Cap has Stagnated Since 2017

With respect to the popularity of the stablecoin of Tether (USDT), the report went on to explain that it would take a mega event to halt the increasing adoption of Tether which is on a path to edge out Ethereum in terms of market cap.

Furthermore, ETH’s market cap has more or less stagnated since 2017 thus providing Tether with an opportunity to take the number 2 spot.

It should take something significant to stall the increasing adoption of Tether, the top stable coin, which ison pace to match the capitalization of Ethereum in a bit less than a year, based on the regression trend since the start of 2019.

Our chart depicts the stagnant market cap of Ethereum since 2017 vs. rapidly rising Tether, which jumped to a new high of almost $16 billion at the start of October.

Markethive Advertisement

Original article posted on the EthereumWorldNews.com site, by John P. Njui.

Article re-posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

Ethereum’s (ETH) Mean Hash Rate Hits New All-Time High Thanks to DeFi

John P. Njui   •   DEFI • ETHEREUM (ETH) NEWS   •   October 6, 2020

In brief:

• Ethereum’s mean hash rate has hit a new all-time high of 250 Terahash per second
• Ethereum’s hash rate has grown by 80% since the beginning of the year
• This is as a result of increased interest in DeFi
• MetaMask also hit a new milestone of 1 Million monthly active users thanks to DeFi

High user activity on Ethereum (ETH) has resulted in the network’s mean hash rate reaching a new all-time high of 250 Terahash per second. The team at Glassnode highlighted this milestone via Twitter and explained that the popularity of DeFi was the major contributor. Furthermore, Ethereum's mean hash rate has grown by 80% since the beginning of 2020.

MetaHash Celebrates 1M Monthly Active Users

The popularity of DeFi has also assisted MetaMask in hitting a new all-time high of 1 Million monthly active users. The milestone was shared by the team at MetaMask via the following tweet.

Also embedded in the tweet, is a chart demonstrating the increment of monthly users with time. From the chart, it can be observed that at the end of Q4 last year, MetaMask had 250,000 active monthly users. This value is a quarter of the current 1 Million thus pointing out that monthly active users have grown by a factor of four in 12 months.

The team at MetaMask pointed out that DeFi was once again behind the explosion of monthly active users as explained below.

…over the last twelve months, significant growth in the adoption of DAOs, Web3 games and the rapid consumer uptake of DeFi products and services has further accelerated our growth curve.

This 2020 curve parallels the trend in DeFi adoption, indicating that new users are coming to MetaMask specifically to participate in the decentralized finance revolution

It’s not just the ability to buy and store Eth that’s powering our new phase of growth. When you think about it, people don’t really want a wallet. They want to invest, sell, lend, borrow. They want to use sites like Uniswap, Yearn, Curve, Maker and Aave to get that job done. MetaMask is simply the connective tissue.

MetaMask recently launched MetaMask Mobile which is available on both Android and iOS. The mobile version of the wallet has gathered traction with a majority of its users residing in the four countries of the USA, India, Nigeria and the Philippines.

Markethive Advertisement

Original article posted on the EthereumWorldNews.com site, by John P. Njui.

Article re-posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

High Revenue From ETH Fees is Attracting Miners to Join Ethereum

John P. Njui   •   DEFI • ETHEREUM (ETH) NEWS   •   SEPTEMBER 29, 2020

Quick summary:

• The popularity of DeFi and Decentralized Exchanges since June 2020, has led to Ethereum experiencing high ETH fees
• Miners are reaping big from these Ethereum transactions thus attracting new miners to the network
• The value of Ethereum will continue to benefit positively from the demand to pay transactions with ETH

The team at Coinmetrics has released this week's SOTN (State of The Network) report in which they highlight that the rise of DeFi has increased Ethereum's hash rate towards all-time highs. Furthermore, high ETH fees paid by users to confirm transactions on the Ethereum network are incentivizing more miners to join the network.

The team at Coinmetrics shared their observation of the Ethereum network via the following statement.

The rise of DeFi has pushed Ethereum hash rate towards all-time highs.

With transaction fees surging, more miners are incentivized to join the network.

High ETH Fees Make Ethereum More Secure

Additionally, the high ETH fees paid out to miners mean that they are further incentivized to secure the network which is good for the long-term well-being of the Ethereum blockchain.

The fees are ultimately paid to miners, so high total fees create more incentive to secure the Ethereum blockchain.

Ethereum miner revenue hit new highs over the summer due to the rise in fees, and as a result Ethereum hash rate is climbing towards all-time highs.

This is a good sign for Ethereum, as network security is critical for the long-term health and success of the blockchain.

Ethereum’s Price To Benefit from Demand for ETH to Pay Fees

As earlier mentioned, the quick rise of Decentralized Finance projects such as UniSwap (UNI), Yearn Finance (YFI) and more, has caused a similar demand for ETH to power transactions on these protocols. The demand for ETH has had a positive effect on the price of Ethereum.

The team at Coinmetrics has captured this fact and explained that it all begun with Yearn Finance.

The rise of DeFi has brought on a wave of new tokens including some breakouts. The start of ETH’s summer bull run coincided with the launch of yearn.finance’s governance token YFI.

Furthermore, the report by Coinmetrics provided the following chart highlighting the launch of each DeFi project and its effect on the price of Ethereum.

Chart courtesy of Coinmetrics.io (Click image for larger view)

Markethive Advertisement

Original article posted on the EthereumWorldNews.com site, by John P. Njui.

Article re-posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

Ethereum Projects Continue to Freeze Tokens Affected by KuCoin Hack

John P. Njui   •   ETHEREUM (ETH) NEWS   •   SEPTEMBER 27, 2020

Quick take:

• Multiple Ethereum based projects affected by the KuCoin have intervened
• Some have frozen their ERC20 tokens with others initiating hardforks
• The KuCoin hack amount has increased to $203 Million and could continue climbing

Almost immediately after the KuCoin hack, the team at Tether announced that it had frozen a total of $33 Million USDT stolen from the exchange. Of this amount, $20 Million was Ethereum based USDT. Tether would go on to freeze an additional $1 Million on the Omni network and another $1 Million on the Tron network.

These actions to freeze stolen funds by Bitfinex and Tether set the pace for other affected Ethereum based projects to also take similar action in stopping the hackers from profiting from their heist.

Notable Ethereum Projects Taking Action Against the Hackers

Below is a list of Ethereum projects acting fast to invalidate stolen ERC20 tokens from KuCoin.

• Ocean Protocol initially paused its smart contract and has decided to carry out a hard fork at block height 10,943,665 on the Ethereum mainnet to invalidate $8.6 Million in stolen OCEAN tokens
• Orion (ORN) has decided to do a 1:1 token swap at block 10,939,462 thus invalidating approximately $8.5 Million on stolen tokens
• Covesting has frozen COV tokens associated with the KuCoin hack
• SilentNotary will re-issue new SNTR tokens
• The team at Crypterium has sent out an email to holders advising them not to interact with the Ethereum address with the stolen CRPT funds

Other Non-Ethereum Projects Taking Similar Actions

Furthermore, projects on other networks were also affected by the KuCoin hack and they too have decided to take similar action. They include:

• VELO Labs will invalidate all affected 122 Million VELO tokens on the Stellar network
• Kardian Chain will perform a 1:1 token swap to protect KAI holders from the hack

Total Amount Stolen Has Increased to $203 Million

At the time of writing, the total amount of funds stolen from KuCoin has jumped to $203 Million after KuCoin continued to provide crypto addresses linked to the hack. Below is a list of the new addresses of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, XRP, Bitcoin SV, Stellar (XLM), Tether (USDT) and Tron (TRX), that KuCoin has published as being connected to the hack.

ETH: 0xeb31973e0febf3e3d7058234a5ebbae1ab4b8c23

BTC:

1NRsEQRg5EjmJHbPUX7YADVPcPzCQBkyU7

12FACbewf5Fy9nmeaLQtm6Ugo5WS8g2Hay

1TYyommJW3uhjhcnHhUSuTQFqSBAxBDPV

LTC: LQtFoidy5TmLrPP77MZzgMRffqPsmRfMXE

XRP: r3mZvvHVLPtRWAujzBsAoXqH11jhwQZvzY

BCHSV: 15mC7zKbLyErSKzGRHpy6gyqS7GyRpWjEi

XLM: GBM3PJWNB5VKNOFXCDTTNXPMUNBMYTLAAPYDIIKLHUGMKX7ZGN2FNGFU

USDT: 1NRsEQRg5EjmJHbPUX7YADVPcPzCQBkyU7

TRX: TB3j1gUXaLXXq2bstiSMfjQ9R7Yh9DdDgK

Markethive Advertisement

Original article posted on the EthereumWorldNews.com site, by John P. Njui.

Article re-posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

Weiss: ETH’s a Great Trading Instrument But Hodling BTC is Better

John P. Njui   •   BITCOIN (BTC) NEWS • ETHEREUM (ETH) NEWS   •   SEPTEMBER 26, 2020

Quick take:

• According to Weiss Ratings, buying and holding Bitcoin is a better option than holding ETH
• 2017 was the first time ETH hit $300 when Bitcoin was at $1,000
• ETH is still in the $300 levels with BTC now 11x higher
• Ethereum is a good trading instrument but Bitcoin is a better option for a buy-and-hold strategy

In a recent Tweet, the team at Weiss Ratings has pointed out that Bitcoin is a better option than Ethereum when it comes to a buy-and-hold investment strategy. Weiss Ratings demonstrated this fact by pointing out that 2017 was the first time Ethereum hit the $300 mark when Bitcoin was valued at around $1,000.

Three years later and in 2020, Ethereum is once again in the $300 value range whereas Bitcoin is knocking at the $11k price level. In terms of returns, BTC is now at 11x thus demonstrating that Bitcoin is a better option for a buy-and-hod strategy.

However, the team at Weiss did not totally dismiss Ethereum and highlighted that it was a great trading instrument for those who prefer to capitalize on ETH’s price movements.

The full statement by Weiss Crypto Ratings can be found in the following tweet.

What Next for Ethereum in the Crypto Markets?

Further exploring Weiss Ratings’ statement of Ethereum being a great trading instrument, we find that ETH recently broke the $350 resistance level and is currently trading at $352. Furthermore, and using the daily ETH/USDT chart, it can be observed that Ethereum has printed what looks like a double-bottom pattern at the low $300 price area.

(Click image for larger view)

Also from the daily ETH/USDT chart, the following can be observed.

• ETH’s price is currently above the 100-day moving average (yellow) which is providing adequate support around $320
• Trade volume is in the green further hinting at a renewed interest in Ethereum ahead of ETH2.0
• Daily MACD is indicating bullishness below the baseline
• MFI is at 42 which is neutral territory and could foreshadow either sideways movement or consolidation before a move up

What remains to be seen, is whether Etheruem has enough momentum to break the familiar resistance levels of $365 and $390 as ETH2.0 draws closer to launching on the Mainnet.

As with all analyses of Ethereum, traders and investors are reminded to keep an eye out for any sudden Bitcoin movements that might ruin the party.

Markethive Advertisement

Original article posted on the EthereumWorldNews.com site, by John P. Njui.

Article re-posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

Total Value Locked in DeFi Recovers from Correction in Early Sept.

John P. Njui   •   DEFI • ETHEREUM (ETH) NEWS   •   SEPTEMBER 16, 2020

Quick take:

• The first week of September saw the total value locked in DeFi fall by 22%
• This was due to decreasing ETH and BTC prices in the first week of September
• The SushiSwap saga might have caused investors to remove their funds from DeFi projects
• The total value locked has risen by 39.5% since the dip due to a crypto market recovery and renewed trust in DeFi

The first week of September was a rollercoaster ride not only in the crypto-markets but also in the DeFi world as the total value locked in the various platforms fell by 22%.

Crypto Market Crash and SushiSwap Saga Behind the Initial Drop of 22%

This drop by 22% was attributed to two factors. Firstly, there was a major correction in the crypto markets that saw Bitcoin drop below $10k on several occasions. Ethereum also fell hard from around $490 to $300. This sharp price decline definitely affected the fiat value of digital assets locked in DeFi.

Secondly, Chef Nomi had caused a bit of panic by cashing out his SUSHI for $14 million in Ethereum (ETH). His initial exit might have caused DeFi investors to pull out their funds from the various DeFi platforms thus reducing the total value locked.

Total Value Locked in DeFi Recovers by 39.5%

With the crypto markets now stable and the SushiSwap saga now resolved, the total value locked in DeFi has recovered by 39.5% since its bottom. This feat was captured by the team at Unfolded via the following two tweets that demonstrate the initial crash and subsequent recovery.

DeFi Continues to Grow at Warp Speed

A quick glance at recent news in the crypto-verse reveals that the DeFi industry continues to grow at warp speed. In the past few weeks, we have seen exchanges such as Binance, OKEx, KuCoin, Bitrue and more, start to offer DeFi products on their platforms in a bid to keep up with investor interest.

DeFi to Make Banks Obsolete

This rapid growth in DeFi has fueled several predictions including traditional banks becoming obsolete with time and future Nobel Prizes being awarded based on work related to crypto. Below are tweets providing the two predictions.

Markethive Advertisement

Original article posted on the EthereumWorldNews.com site, by John P. Njui.

Article re-posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

Decreasing Ethereum Network Activity Foreshadowed ETH’s Pullback

John P. Njui   •   BITCOIN (BTC) NEWS • ETHEREUM (ETH) NEWS   •   SEPTEMBER 5, 2020

In summary:

• Ethereum’s price had shown signs of weakness as daily active addresses and network growth had started fading
• Furthermore, exchange wallets exploded to a 6-month high signifying a possible top for ETH
• Additionally, Ethereum’s correlation with Bitcoin has started to increase once again

Ethereum is once again below the crucial $365 support level. Ethereum’s troubles came after ETH rallied to a two year high of $490 on the 1st of September before following Bitcoin on a fast drop that started on the same day. ETH has continued on a downward spiral and has lost several support zones in the process. They include $450, $420, $400 and $365.

Ethereum Was Primed for a Pullback

According to the team at SantimentFeed, Ethereum was primed for a pullback based on declining daily active addresses and fading network growth. Furthermore, in the last week or so, ETH exchange wallets had increased to a 6-month high hinting of a possible top for Ethereum. The team at Santiment shared their observations of Ethereum via the following two tweets.

Ethereum’s Increased Correlation to Bitcoin Also Pointed Towards a Correction

Additionally, and before ETH’s dip from $490, Ethereum’s correlation to Bitcoin had begun to increase once again.

Initially, Ethereum looked set to break away from Bitcoin’s influence due to the increased DeFi activity on the Ethereum network. However, Bitcoin’s influence on the price of Ethereum is once again showing its full effects. The team at Skew has highlighted this occurrence in the following tweet and accompanying chart.

How Low Can Ethereum Go?

When it comes to predicting a possible bottom for Ethereum in the current market environment, not much can be predicted without checking what is going on with Bitcoin. If the King of Crypto continues on its downward spiral, Ethereum will go down with BTC.

If the $335 – $300 support zone fails, it is prudent to conclude that Ethereum will be headed back to the $290 price area.

As with all analyses of Ethereum, traders and investors are advised to use adequate stop losses when trading ETH on the various derivatives platforms.

Markethive Advertisement

Original article posted on the EthereumWorldNews.com site, by John P. Njui.

Article re-posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

Ethereum (ETH) Miners are Earning $800k Per Hr, Up from $500k

John P. Njui   •   ETHEREUM (ETH) NEWS   •   SEPTEMBER 2, 2020

In brief:

• Ethereum miners are earning an average of $800,000 per hour
• This value is up from yesterday’s peak of $500,000
• High Ethereum network activity due to DeFi has led to a steady increment in ETH gas cost

In the last 24 hours, Ethereum miners have earned an average of $800,000 per hour. This value is up $300k from yesterday’s estimate of $500,000 per hour in ETH mining revenue. Both instances of Ethereum miners reaping big were captured by the team at Glassnode via the following tweets.

A Peak of $900k Per Hour

From the first tweet by Glassnode identifying an average of $800k in revenue for miners, it can be observed that on two occasions, Ethereum miners earned as much as $900,000 per hour.

Uniswap and Tether Lead the Rest in ETH Gas Consumption

Further analysis reveals that Uniswap and Tether are still the top two ETH gas guzzlers. According to Etherscan and in the last 3 hours, Uniswap transactions have netted miners a whopping $550,000. In the same time period, Tether transactions have netted Ethereum miners a total of $260,000.

The relatively new SushiSwap comes a distant fifth with a total of $42,000 in mining fees paid out to miners to confirm transactions from the platform. Below is a screenshot of the top 5 DApps in terms of ETH gas consumption.

(Screenshot courtesy of Etherscan.io – Click image for larger view)

Ethereum’s Value Continues to Benefit From DeFi

The continual interest in DeFi on the Ethereum network has had a positive impact on the price of ETH. Earlier today, the price of Ethereum looked set to break the $500 psychological level as its value printed a local peak of $489.

However, the crypto markets suffered a rather major crash led by Bitcoin which fell from $12,000 to $11,100 in less than 24 hours. During the dip, Ethereum fell to as low as $420. This area has now become a short term support area for Ethereum as the crypto markets try to recover from the crash earlier today.

Ethereum is currently trading at the $440 support zone with the daily chart still exhibiting some bullishness that could see ETH attempt to break $500 in the near future. However, as with all altcoins, Ethereum’s fate is tied to that of Bitcoin.

As with all analyses of Ethereum, traders and investors are advised to use adequate stop losses and low leverage when trading ETH on the various derivatives platforms.

Markethive Advertisement

Original article posted on the EthereumWorldNews.com site, by John P. Njui.

Article re-posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

PLS&TY Puts Music On Blockchain To Be Bought With Cryptos

By RTTNews Staff Writer | Published: 8/27/2020 10:21 AM ET

Tommy Leasbetter, better known as PLS&TY, has teamed up with Ethereum-based art and culture platform Foundation to put his vinyls on blockchain to be bought by fans using cryptocurrency. PLS&TY is claimed to be the first musician to do this.

Foundation serves as a crypto-powered stock exchange for limited-edition art and culture. It allows the market's natural supply and demand to dictate the price of the creations sold on the platform. This dynamic pricing model lets artists benefit directly from the hype that surrounds their work.

PLS&TY, a DJ and producer of electronic dance music, is selling 30 of his brand new "Very Special" limited edition signed EP on vinyl. The EP was released digitally in April and features four tracks, including collaborations from Sean Kingston, Alex Aiono, Wifisfuneral, to name a few.

The platform has created a unique digital token called $PECIAL to represent each EP vinyl. The customer can buy and trade this token representing the 30 glow-in-the-dark records. Foundation uses the cryptocurrency Dai to enable trading.

At the time of writing, 16 out of these 30 EP vinyl are available, with the PLS&TY "Very Special" EP Vinyl trading at $72.80.

As more collectors buy each piece, the corresponding token rises in value. As a piece's value fluctuates, buyers can cash in by selling tokens back to the market. Artists earn a cut each time their tokens are bought and sold, allowing them to capitalize on the hype they create.

PLS&TY can enable trading for as long as he wants, but once vinyl is ready to ship, the tokens will be redeemable to receive the physical vinyl anywhere in the world. Alternatively, the token holders can continue to keep the digital value of the token or trade it in the Foundation market.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Markethive Advertisement

Article written by an RTT News Staff Writer, and posted on the RTT News.com website.

Article reposted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

Ethereum’s Correlation With Bitcoin Starts to Increase Once Again

John P. Njui   •   BITCOIN (BTC) NEWS   •   AUGUST 26, 2020

Quick take:

• Ethereum’s correlation with Bitcoin has started to increase once again.
• In late June and July, ETH looked set to break away from Bitcoin’s influence due to the DeFi boom and investors anticipating ETH 2.0.
• With a return of the correlation between Ethereum and Bitcoin, a drop by BTC could see ETH retest $365.

Ethereum’s 30-day correlation with Bitcoin has seen a steady increment in the final days of the month of August. This observation was highlighted by the team at Unfolded via the following tweet.

This observation is further confirmed by visiting the ETH/BTC correlation chart courtesy of Coinmetrics. The latter platform only goes as low as the 90-day correlation but the increment can still be visible via a small change in gradient of the chart to an upward trajectory.

(Click image for larger view)

What this Means For Ethereum

The months of June, July and August were eventful for Ethereum due to the DeFi boom. Furthermore, Ethereum investors and traders were optimistic that ETH 2.0 would be launched by the end of July. These two events coupled with a generally bullish crypto market environment had led to a drop in Ethereum’s correlation with Bitcoin. This fact can be observed from the chart shared above.

Therefore, an increment in the correlation between Ethereum and Bitcoin means that it is business as usual in the sense that where BTC goes, ETH will follow.

Further checking the charts, yesterday saw a return of Bitcoin’s volatility albeit earlier than anticipated. Many crypto traders had assumed that Bitcoin’s volatility will return a few hours to the expiry of 62,000 BTC options on Friday, August 25th. However, the King of Crypto pulled a fast one on traders and dipped to as low as $11,100 three days earlier. BTC has since bounced back to $11,400 levels.

The downward move by BTC also affected Ethereum’s price which fell to as low as $369. This value is not too far off the previously identified support of $365. This in turn means that any additional drop by Bitcoin will mean that ETH will most likely retest this area or even lose it in the days to follow.

As with all analyses of Ethereum, traders and investors are advised to use adequate stop losses and low leverage when trading ETH on the various derivatives platforms.

Markethive Advertisement

Original article posted on the EthereumWorldNews.com site, by John P. Njui.

Article re-posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe