Forecast: Is Ethereum To Outperform Bitcoin In 2018?
Bitcoin, as predicted, has failed to hold gains above $16,500 with sellers pushing the leading cryptocurrency back down below $15,000. On US exchange Coinbase, bitcoin is currently trading at $14,800.
Adding to bitcoin’s travails was the news from Microsoft (MSFT) on Monday that it would stop accepting bitcoin as a payment method.
In another pointer to the immature nature of the crypto space, much to the annoyance and confusion of many market participants (the author included), prices quoted on Coinmarketcap.com have been skewed by the removal of South Korean exchanges from its global average price quotes.
Coinmarketcap’s move had the effect on Monday of making Ripple, for example, appear to be down 25% when it wasn’t, with other top 30 coins all flashing red with chunky, but erroneous, 20% or more losses. The move by the popular industry website was not communicated to the market before implementation and is thought to have triggered some panic selling.
The bright spot in the market over the past few days has undoubtedly been the continuing northward march of Ethereum, which was recently pushed out of its position as second-largest crypto measured by market capitalisation, following the price surge of Ripple’s XRP token.
With a daily volume currently at around $7 billion, according Coinmarketcap.com, double the average for the past month, Ethereum first conquered $1,000 on 4 January and has steadily climbed since then to trade at $1,231, according to CoinDesk.
The number of transactions on the Ethereum network is a testament to its popularity as the platform of choice for decentralised apps and initial coin offering smart contracts, which underscores its value proposition. It is therefore no coincidence that transaction volumes peaked on 4 January when the coin hit $1,000, with transaction volumes tracking the price climbs.
