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Ethereum News Update
Last week didn’t feel bullish for Ethereum. Nonetheless, ETH prices advanced nearly 16% in the past seven days. The lesson? Markets don’t care what we feel.
Sentiment only matters insofar as it reveals the buying intentions of other investors. Look at the numbers instead. They show that Ethereum is outperforming other cryptocurrencies by a wide margin.
For example, three of the four biggest cryptos are down since the start of the year. Bitcoin dropped 19.5%, Bitcoin Cash fell 33.4%, and XRP lost 38.6%.
Meanwhile, ETH prices are up 58.8%, putting the Ethereum to USD exchange rate at $1,201.95.
Ethereum Price Chart
Whatever is plaguing the rest of the market has yet to reach Ethereum prices. This is hardly surprising, given that regulation is tightening around the crypto space.
South Korea issued a ban on anonymous trading. China bared its teeth against illicit trading and Bitcoin mining. And the International Monetary Fund started talking about global standards for regulating cryptos. The walls are closing in.
As a result, money is rotating to platforms that facilitate use-case development. “What can blockchain do in the real world?” is becoming the dominant question.
That’s why investors didn’t run for the hills after the recent Coincheck hack. In the past, volatility would surge if a major exchange was hacked (Mt. Gox, for example). But investors understand that there is growing credibility in the cryptocurrency space.
However, this credibility is not spread evenly.
It is heavily skewed toward Ethereum and platforms that model themselves after Ethereum, such as NEO and NEM. Don’t believe me? Just look at the recent grades from Weiss Ratings.
The Florida-based agency gave ETH a “B”—the highest grade in the entire asset class. By contrast, Bitcoin received a “C+.” (Source: “Korean Cyberattack Fails to Foil Crypto-Ratings Release,” Weiss Ratings, January 24, 2018.)
Days after those ratings came out, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong spoke glowingly about an Ethereum-based alternative to Airbnb, Inc. This app, “CryptoCribs,” performs the same service but is decentralized across the Ethereum blockchain. (Source: “Coinbase CEO Praises Ethereum-Based Decentralized Airbnb Project,” CoinJournal, January 28, 2018.)
These events—the positive ratings for ETH and praise for Ethereum development—are tied together. Clearly, investors are starting to reward realistic applications of blockchain. It’s not just distant dreams anymore.
Analyst Take
We continue to believe that Ethereum can reach $1,500 before the summer. That is our short-run Ethereum price forecast. By the end of the year, however, ETH prices might reach as high as $2,500.
Source: Price Confidential