Ethereum About to Break Away From Carrying Bitcoin’s Weight in the Bull Market

By Bernice Nyambura – August 5, 2020

Anonymous owner of Bitcoin.org and BitcoinTalk Cobra has sparked a heated debate on Twitter over Bitcoin possibly being a dead weight to ETH, as the best performing crypto asset of 2020.

Cobra, who is known in the Bitcoin community for his controversial opinions now thinks that Ethereum is trying to break free from carrying along with Bitcoin’s price as it drives the bull market.

“I sense that it’s pulling away from being under Bitcoin’s feet, if we see more upside or a bull market driven by ETH, it will shake confidence in BTC.”

Other pundits of the same opinion and those thinking that Bitcoin’s position as the digital gold is unshaken, were quick to comment. Stating that ETH pulling away from BTC is a good thing, one user mentioned that just like ETH, BTC will have to depend on its own merit against other altcoins, instead of an obsolete status.

“I think this is a good thing, as more people will realize the “store of value” narrative just isn’t true. BTC will no longer be able to just rely on its name and actually have to compete to keep the top spot.”

ETH vs BTC or ETH and BTC

Besides outperforming every other crypto asset, Ethereum was the first to bounce back and regain higher resistance levels after the 2^nd of August flash crash. Still, in response to Cobra, another user thinks ETH could do better if it broke away from BTC.

“This whole Bull Run is just sponsored by $ETH… seems like $ETH is trying to carry $BTC with it too but $BTC is unable to move along.”

Speaking for BTC’s position as the top coin, the founder of Blockspace thinks ETH can only compete with BTC after its established migration to Ethereum 2.0 but until then, Bitcoin’s price going up has nothing to do with ETH.

“ETH is definitely going higher, but not before Bitcoin does. Also, ETH 1.0 can’t scale and ETH 2.0 is a hot mess.”

The best possible scenario however, is that the two assets could coexist and complement each other. As Vitalik recently pointed out, ETH is not a competition to BTC but a continuation of Satoshi’s vision for BTC.

If Ethereum 2.0 is successful, it will create a DApps ecosystem that will enable bridging solutions and most people will be interchanging between the two assets without even realizing it.

“The thing about Ethereum and DeFi, is that easy to use mass market apps are being developed on this tech. The mainstream is no closer to using Bitcoin keys, cold storage etc. than they were many years ago. But mainstream will end up using Ethereum/DeFi without even knowing it.”

These remarks follow the successful launch of the final Phase 0 Medalla Multiclient Testenet, raising hopes that Ethereum 2.0 Beacon Chain will indeed launch in Q4 2020.

In 24 hours, ETH’s price is up 3.45% at the time of writing, with BTC regaining $11,500 at 4.7% after trading below $11,300 for two days.

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DISCLAIMER

The views expressed in the article are wholly those of the author and do not represent those of, nor should they be attributed to, ZyCrypto. This article is not meant to give financial advice. Please carry out your own research before investing in any of the various cryptocurrencies available.

The original article written by Bernice Nyambura and posted on ZyCrypto.com.

Article reposted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

Ethereum’s $250 Was Possibly a Local Top for ETH

A possible delay in ETH2.0 might reduce investor interest in Ethereum.

John P. Njui   •   ETHEREUM (ETH) NEWS   •   July 19, 2020

Quick take:

• Ethereum’s price action has continued to be dull and resembles that of Bitcoin.
• Ethereum’s fate could be tied to that of Bitcoin.
• A possible postponement of ETH2.0 might have caused Ethereum to experience a local top at $250.
• DeFi could offer a reason to remain bullish on Ethereum as more ETH is locked up in Yield Farming.

Between the 1st and 9th of July, Ethereum traded between the range of $222 and $248. This range has now narrowed to between $248 and $230 in the past week. The price action of Ethereum within a tight range now resembles that of Bitcoin that has not had much to show in the third quarter of 2020.

This can be attributed to the fact that Ethereum is highly correlated to Bitcoin as seen in the chart below courtesy of the team at CoinMetrics. This chart implies that the fate of Ethereum is tied to that of Bitcoin in the crypto markets.

(Click image for larger view)

Effects of a Delayed ETH2.0 on the Price of Ethereum

The Ethereum community has accepted the fact that a delay of ETH2.0 is inevitable. The new estimates now put the release at anywhere between Q4 of 2020 and Q1 of 2021. A delay of the Ethereum upgrade by another 3 – 6 months might not be much for long term holders, but it provides a large window of trading time in the crypto markets.

(Click image for larger view)

DeFi Will Boost Ethereum’s Value

However, all is not lost for Ethereum as the DeFi industry might provide the spark needed for ETH to continue gaining in the crypto markets. Earlier this week, it was revealed that approximately 3.5 Million ETH is locked up in DeFi platforms. This value is 3% of the existing 111.8 Million ETH in circulation and could continue to grow with the increased interest in Yield Farming.

As more Ethereum is locked up in DeFi, ETH could witness a gradual price increment as less Ethereum becomes available in the crypto markets. This event, coupled with an eventual release of ETH2.0 in the next few months, could provide the necessary environment for Ethereum to finally break the $250 resistance level.

Disclaimer: This article is not meant to give financial advice. Any additional opinion herein is purely the author’s and does not represent the opinion of EWN or any of its other writers. Please carry out your own research before investing in any of the numerous cryptocurrencies available. Thank you.

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

Article re-posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

Questions Linger on Why Anyone Would Pay $2.6M in Ethereum (ETH) Fees

Someone paid $2.6 Million in Ethereum fees for a transaction worth approximately $134.

John P. Njui   •   ETHEREUM (ETH) NEWS   •   June 10, 2020

In brief:

• Earlier today, 0.55 ETH was transferred for a transaction fee of 10,668.73 ETH.
• This translates to approximately $2.6 Million in fees paid for a transaction worth $134.
• Although initially seen as a mistake, questions still linger on other possible explanations.

A transaction on the Ethereum blockchain has crypto enthusiasts scratching their heads as to whether the initiator of the transaction made a mistake, or whether the sender knew what they were doing. The transaction in question involves the transfer of 0.55 ETH for a hefty transaction fee of 10,668 Ethereum. Below is a screenshot of the transaction that can also be tracked via Etherscan.

Investigation in Progress

The team at StarkPool.com has responded to the event by stating that they are investigating as to what really led to the sender initiating and approving a transaction with such a high fee. StarkPool focuses on professional mining pool services and the team responded to the event by stating there will be a solution in the end.

The mention of experience by StarkPool is in reference to a similar event in March 2019 when an Ethereum user accidentally paid 2,100 ETH in transaction fees by confusing the fields required to send an ETH transaction. The incident was solved with StarkPool refunding 1,050 ETH.

Ethereum’s Vitalik Chimes In

The enormity of the mistake has caught the attention of Ethereum Co-Founder, Vitalik Buterin, who is for the opinion that the transaction was a definite mistake. His comment regarding the event was via the following tweet.

Questions Still Linger on the $2.6M in Ethereum Fees

However, despite Vitalik’s comments that the transaction might have been a mistake, there is the additional possibility that the input was intentional and that the yet-to-be-identified sender, knew what s/he was doing. One plausible theory is that the transaction was what is known as a Trade-Based Money Laundering (TBML) transaction. This theory was put forth by @benjaminjwhitby.

Disclaimer: This article is not meant to give financial advice. Any additional opinion herein is purely the author’s and does not represent the opinion of EWN or any of its other writers. Please carry out your own research before investing in any of the numerous cryptocurrencies available. Thank you.

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

Article re-posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

2 Reasons Why Ethereum (ETH) Could Reclaim $200

Technical analysis indicates bullish momentum as ETH 2.0 launch approaches in July.

John P. Njui   •   Ethereum News   •   April 8, 2020   •   2 Min read

In brief:

• Bitcoin has led a resurgence in the crypto market and looks set to erase all losses experienced in mid-March.
• With BTC currently experiencing sideways movement, Ethereum could experience a second wave up.
• The Eth 2.0 upgrade of Serenity, is scheduled for July 2020.

There is a general sense of optimism in the cryptocurrency markets that has been brought about by a resurgence of Bitcoin. The King of Crypto has broken the $6,900 resistance level. BTC is currently trading at $7,300 and looks set to erase all losses it experienced in the month of March due to the impact of the Coronavirus. When we look at our favorite alt-coin of Ethereum (ETH), the cryptocurrency has experienced the proverbial resurrection after gaining 27% between the 3rd and 7th of April 2020. In this time period, the price of Ethereum moved from $137 to a local high of $175.

Bitcoin's Sideways Movement Might Allow ETH to Move Higher

As earlier mentioned, Bitcoin seems to be consolidating around the $7,200 – $7,300 zone thus giving Ethereum the room needed to also consolidate and continue on its upward trajectory. It is a known fact that once BTC starts to move in a sideways movement, altcoins thrive.

6-Hour ETH/USDT courtesy of Tradingview.com

Further looking at our favorite 6hr chart, we find that the Ethereum price is trading above the 0.5 Fibonacci retracement level identified in an earlier analysis. Our ETH/USD chart shows that $168 is offering a good level of support for ETH. Additionally, its current price at $169 is above both the 50 (white) and 100 (yellow) moving averages. This, in turn, means that it is currently in bullish territory in the market after breaking the wedge we had also identified in our last analysis.

However, for the price of ETH to reclaim $200, it has to overcome the following resistances.

• $179
• $188
• $195

Additionally, the 6-hour MACD and MFI indicate that the cryptocurrency will either be trading at its current level for a few more hours or experience its own sideways similar to Bitcoin's.

ETH 2.0 Upgrade in July

Also worth noting is the Serenity upgrade scheduled for July this year. In a recent AMA session on Reddit, the development team in charge of the platform announced that they were expecting to launch this upgrade by July 30th. In the AMA, the team expressed their optimism that it will be done by the quoted date.

I'm hoping we can launch by July 30, 2020 (the 5th anniversary of Ethereum 1.0). I think it's unlikely we will launch in Q1 or Q2 2020 especially if we want three clients to be production-ready for launch.

The upgrade is meant to implement the highly anticipated Proof-of-Stake (PoS) algorithm and to improve transaction speeds on the network.

Summing it Up

Spearheaded by Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency markets are attempting to erase losses from mid-March. As a result, Ethereum's price might have a chance to keep pushing towards $200 based on technical analysis on the 6hour chart. Additionally, the fundamentals with respect to the news of Serenity being implemented in July will provide additional momentum up for ETH. As with all analysis, the reader is advised to safeguard their ETH/USD position using adequate stop losses.

(Feature image courtesy of Clifford Photography on Unsplash.com.)

Disclaimer: This article is not meant to give financial advice. Any additional opinion herein is purely the author’s and does not represent the opinion of Ethereum World News or any of its other writers. Please carry out your own research before investing in any of the numerous cryptocurrencies available. Thank you.

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

Article re-posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe