Ethereum is the primary cryptocurrency benefiting from the DeFi trend. And while a rising tide lifts all boats, the demand for the top-ranked altcoin is second-to-none.
And while Ethereum is dominating the crypto market right now, its DeFi that is dominating the headlines in the media, not the altcoin that makes it all possible.
DeFi Dominates Ethereum Mentions In The Media
Decentralized finance is on the tips of everyone’s tounges these days. It is hard not to notice even for passerby the enormous profits being generated out of what seems like thin air thanks to a variety of DeFi tokens.
The DeFi trend has helped bring the crypto market out of the troughs of the bear market and breaking 2020 highs. And while bitcoin has failed to set a higher high on high timeframe price charts, Ethereum, the altcoin central to the DeFi world, has achieved the important feat.
Related Reading | Ethereum Fractal From 2019 Says 2020 Top In Crypto Could Be In
A higher-high is a sign an uptrend is forming, and throughout 2020, Ethereum has exploded in price. It has been one of the best performing altcoins and beat out nearly every other asset as the best investment to make with a stimulus check after Black Thursday.
Even now, despite a deep correction, anyone who did just that is still deep in profit thanks to DeFi buzz and demand driving up ETH prices. In addition to driving up prices, media mentions of Ethereum are on the rise.
But its nothing compared to the spike in DeFi mentions, which has now surpassed the top-ranked altcoin itself.
DeFi Versus Ethereum Media Mentions | Source: The Tie
ETH Gas Fees Drive Demand Due To Unstoppable Decentralized Finance Trend
The altcoin is in enormous demand thanks to the DeFi trend. Most tokens are built as ERC-20 tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. To move these tokens to and from liquidity pool platforms, decentralized exchanges, and other wallets, it costs a transaction gas fee in ETH.
Related Reading | Uniswap UNI Token FOMO Brings Ethereum Fees To Nearly $1M An Hour
For example, the liquidity swap platform Uniswap recently debuted its UNI token, giving away 400 free tokens to early users of the platform.
ETHUSD Daily Price Increase Driven By DeFi Trend | Source: TradingView
But to access the tokens, users need to pay extremely high fees in ETH to move the UNI to and from any destination to sell it.
Because it was free money, essentially the crypto version of the stimulus check, users rushed to cash out the UNI and it caused Ethereum gas fees to break an hourly record for reaching over $900,000 worth of ETH.
Rising fees in Ethereum are a controversial topic, claiming that it shows that the platform needs to scale in order to survive. Others say that this is simply a sign of enormous demand, and the demand will keep Etheruem prices rising and DeFi in media headlines for years to come.
Featured image from DepositPhotos, Charts from TradingView