Ethereum is on the up and up with 10x growth for the last 12 months…
Next to Bitcoin, Ethereum is perhaps the second most well-known crypto. And right now, Ethereum is on a seemingly unstoppable bull run. In just the last 24 hours, Ethereum grew 8% which moved it past the $3800 mark.
To put that figure into context, this recent run represents a 50% increase in Ethereum’s price inside the last month alone. Over the past 12 months, Ethereum has grown 10x, while Bitcoin only managed 5x growth for the same period.
What’s driving the growth of Ethereum? A couple of things: the first is falling enhance reserves, and the second is the recent London hardfork upgrade to the Ethereum blockchain.
“Over the last few months, the ETH reserves across all exchanges have been on a continuous decline. As per the blockchain analytics firm, the amount of ETH held in exchange wallets has dropped from 19.45 million on Aug. 18 to 18.75 million on Wednesday, September 1.”
COINSPEAKER
Similarly, analysts have noted a large number of ETH moving to Ethereum 2.0 smart contracts. As of right now, these Ethereum 2.0 smart contracts are holding nearly 7 million ETH coins – that’s worth around $25 billion.
There is also plenty of Ethereum moving into cold wallets, indicating that ETH owners are looking to hold for the long term. All of these factors combined have driven the growth of ETH. The next obvious question, however, is how long can this bull run last?
Will Ethereum Overtake Bitcoin?
Because of its explosive growth, many are now discussing when – or if – Ethereum could possibly overtake Bitcoin. Currently, Bitcoin is hovering between $47,000-$50,000 – this is quite a lot higher than Bitcoin (BTC).
But the gap between $3800 and $47000 is still pretty massive. How long would it realistically take before Ethereum is nipping at Bitcoin’s heels?
It could take years. Or, it could happen really quickly. The crypto market is incredibly volatile, things happen quickly. However, Dmitry Mishunin, founder and CEO of smart contract audit firm HashEx, reckons ETH could flip Bitcoin in the “near term”.
Similarly, Jon Ovadia, founder and CEO of crypto exchange Ovex, reckons ETH has “better fundamentals” than Bitcoin. Ovadia believes ETH’s superior infrastructure and the launch of Ethereum 2.0 will also “make the blockchain more usable” which, when taken together, will help ETH close the gap on Bitcoin.
How much of a big deal is Ethereum 2.0? It’s actually extremely significant. JPMorgan has predicted that payouts will more than double to over $20 billion once Ethereum completes its transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS).
How To Buy Ethereum?
The easiest way to quickly and securely buy some Ethereum is via an app like Coinbase. This is what I use to buy my crypto, so I can attest to its quality and safety. There are plenty of other platforms around too, and I’ve used a bunch of them, but I eventually settled with Coinbase.
As with anything, DO NOT be stupid when buying crypto. Never use money you cannot afford to use; never put your life savings on the line; keep your investments small and intermittent. You’ll also want to watch the markets too; ideally, you want to buy when the crypto’s value is falling.