Ethereumโs growth is attributed to an increasing number of developers building decentralized finance (DeFi) applications on the Ethereum blockchain platform. The rise of non-fungible tokens (NFT) also increases demand for Ethereum.
Lastly, continued institutional interest in treating crypto like any other security also helps ETH. Coinbase is the new NYSE. ETH is No. 2 on Coinbase after Bitcoin.
Seeing how the DeFi and NFT movements are directly connected to Ethereum, their increased activity has been the main driver for ETH prices in 2021, says Andrew Moss, GSR Capitalโs managing director. โUsers need ETH to interact with these technologies, so the more people who are involved with these communities and protocols, the higher the value of ETH goes,โ he says.
Where is ETH going?
Judging by the current momentum of the cryptocurrency space and the increased interest in Ethereum, โour price target may easily be overtaken,โ Grigorov said in an email correspondence. โMore investors and developers are discovering ETH or moving onto the platform in search of a more robust, stable and secure investment vehicle.โ
For newcomers to the cryptocurrency market and its โcompaniesโ, Ethereum is a platform where developers can build apps favoring the easy creation of other alternative coins. An altcoin is basically any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin, so ETH is an alt.
Ethereum is the name of the underlying blockchain technology or network, while Ether (ETH) is the digital currency that powers the platform. โEthereum can be described as โthe open sourceโ platform of cryptocurrency, just like Googleโs GOOG -0.3% Play Store or Appleโs AAPL -1.6% App Store,โ Grigorov says.
Just like in Bitcoinโs blockchain, each Ethereum transaction is confirmed when the nodes (participants) on the network reach a mutual consensus that this particular transaction took place and they are rewarded in ETH for their work, through a process known as mining. Mining can be easily described as solving/computing a complex algorithm in order to prove the authenticity of previous transactions on the network.
โAs an investor, one of my top list cryptocurrencies to buy is definitely ETH,โ Grigorov says. โThe upgrade to ETH 2.0 should spur more growth and give investors massive benefits.โ
Thatโs Ethereum. The update to the Ethereum network, known as the Ethereum Improvement Proposal 1559, introduces a base fee to Ethereum transaction fees, something all users are required to pay when they send a transaction. This proposal introduces a โburnโ which โ simply put โ would allow for coins to be โburntโ or eliminated, thus reducing supply.
I wonโt pretend to understand all the computer technicals, but ETH 2.0 is looked at as a positive upgrade to the network, and therefore good for investors.
โIf we're still bullish by the end of the year, I'd say ETH would be closer to the $10,000,โ thinks Ioannis Giannaros, Co-founder of Wyre, a cross-border payment API using blockchain technology based in San Francisco. โIf we're in a bear market, we'll see lows back in the $1,400โs,โ he says.
Danial Daychopan, CEO and founder of London-based DeFi firm Plutus says thereโs been a lot of โfear of missing outโ when it comes to Ethereum. Investor inboxes have been flooded with something akin to โEthereum moonโ calls all month.
โFOMO has played a big part, but a lot of this is driven, too, by the rush of smart money and thousands of developers around the world buying ETH,โ he says. โDevelopers need ETH to pay for building their applications on the Ethereum network. Think of it as a toll fee, where the biggest computer in the world charges you tolls for using its immutable cloud servers and verifying every transaction you make on it.โ
The crypto investing story is the perfect get-rich quick scheme. Itโs those specialty lose weight or gain muscle diets that never work; itโs the YouTuber selling you his stock picks from his Ferrari driver seat.
But if we assume crypto is a fad, trending to $0, the opportunity cost for thinking that way is through the roof. Everyone recognizes this...
If you invested a measly $100 in ETH in December 2015, youโd have over $125,000 today. Only those who believe in flying rainbow unicorns think they will ever make 125,000% on ETH again. Besides, they would likely sell if was up 100%. But true believers think they have a chance at 10,000% gains in five years. And why wouldnโt they? Look at what these coins have done so far.
If ETH does reverse this week, there will be buyers on the other end, thinking the long game. Unless you believe the long-term result is the Ethereum blockchain being centralized, and everything associated with it becomes worthless.
โIf youโre an investor, just know there are at thousands of crypto losers out there,โ says Daychopan. โCrypto has matured a lot, but itโs still the Wild West of investing. There are meme coins and projects that are there simply to take your money. Do your own research, invest in the future, but be patience and follow the smart money. The results will be in your favor if you do that.โ
Credit :Kenneth Rapoza
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