It has been a constant uphill climb for the two biggest names in cryptocurrency as Bitcoin and Ethereum try to revive the struggling digital assets industry. However, while most of the world’s focus has been squarely on the performance of Bitcoin, it is actually Ethereum that seems to be doing much better in terms of recovery.
Both of these crypto giants fell to their lowest points in June, with Bitcoin trading at $17,601 and Ether at $880.93. Since then, it has been a story of good news one day and bad news the next for both coins.
Bitcoin in particular has been finding the going to be very difficult, and despite flashes of good news that occur every now and then to give investors hope, the situation has been far from ideal. Having said that, the coin did increase by 31% from its June 19th low, and that kind of growth is hardly ever seen in any type of fiat currency these days.
The growth of Bitcoin is, however, overshadowed by Ethereum, which grew by a whopping 101% in the last couple of months alone. This was something that no one was prepared for, as most people would have assumed that the fate of Bitcoin would also dictate whether or not Ether would survive.
An Upgrade in the Ethereum Blockchain May Be the Key Factor
Looking closely at these figures, it is clear that something is definitely propelling Ether to such splendid performances. Indeed, most investors are turning to Ether because of recent upgrades to its blockchain.
What is truly amazing about this upgrade, called the “merge,” is that it has caused this massive growth in Ether value before it has even happened! Yes, that’s right; the merge is only expected to happen on the 15th of September, nearly a month from now, yet people are already flocking to the platform.
When (or if) it finally does happen, the merge is said to be created solely to turn Ether from a proof-of-work system to a proof-of-stake one. This will drastically improve the speed and efficiency of the platform, making it a lot more attractive to crypto miners.
However, as impressive as these numbers and upgrades are, Bitcoin is still the absolute King of cryptocurrency. It will take more than a single Ether upgrade to knock Bitcoin from the throne. Even now, amid this storm and the uncertainty surrounding the crypto industry, a lot of investors are still putting their faith in BIT assets.
Further Delays Could Be Bad News for Ethereum, Though
As Ethereum continues to reap the rewards of its expected merge, experts have speculated that any further delays to the launch will drastically affect investor confidence, and could set off another selling frenzy.
Antoni Trenchev, founder of Nexo, a crypto trading platform, says that it is the promise of being energy efficient that has investors excited. There are also fears that most of the growth seen by the platform may be a result of investors who plan to take their profits long before the launch happens.
Meanwhile, Crypto Companies Continue Struggling
As Ether investors look forward to great growth figures, it never rains but it pours for a few companies who are struggling to stay afloat and one step ahead of their creditors.
One Singapore-based crypto lender, Hodlnaut has recently started firing huge chunks of its workforce, as part of the preparations for what the company calls police proceedings. To date, 40 of Hodlnaut’s employees have lost their jobs and the company has also slashed interest rates to 0%.
All this is in a bid to stay liquid while its developers work on a recovery plan. Thus far, the owners have not tied to flee the country, instead, turning to the authorities to seek a protection order against their creditors, to whom they owe millions of dollars.
Final Word
If the rest of the crypto industry were to take a page from the Ethereum book and add a little more value to their coins, then they too could enjoy similar growth numbers and the entire industry may start to recover. Until then, it is Ether that continues to make headlines with impressive figures being posted daily.
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