This week cryptocurrency prices remained relatively flat, with the trading volume fluctuating slightly. There hasn’t been any significant news affecting prices for BTC and ETH, which managed to hold support and close in the green today. Bitcoin is trading at $20,082, and Ethereum is trading at $1,366. Both crypto assets are up over 5% in the past 24 hours. Despite today’s bullish momentum, the global cryptocurrency market cap remains below $1 trillion, meaning that the bears still haven’t left the party.
Key Points:
- Cryptocurrency markets bounce back this Friday as trading volume remains low.
- The media focuses on the unsustainability of proof-of-work and the impact traditional cryptocurrency mining has on the environment.
- Ethereum’s merge could propel it to overtake BTC as it’s the largest environmentally-friendly network in the blockchain space.
- The market remains in the bearish territory as the global cryptocurrency valuation is still below $1 trillion.
Bitcoin News
With the Ethereum merge completed successfully, all eyes are on Bitcoin as it remains the largest proof-of-work blockchain network. Since Bitcoin requires miners to utilize electricity and run the SHA256 algorithm, there are reports that BTC is highly damaging to the environment and the climate.
A recent report from Nature estimates the economic impact of Bitcoin mining on the environment, which is quite significant. In addition, the report found that between 2016-2021, the per coin climate damage from BTC was increasing rather than decreasing.
“During certain time periods, BTC climate damages exceed the price of each coin created; (iii) on average, each $1 in BTC market value created was responsible for $0.35 in global climate damages, which as a share of market value is in the range between beef production and crude oil burned as gasoline”
It’s clear that Bitcoin needs to do something regarding its proof-of-work consensus model. Following Ethereum’s footsteps to convert to a proof-of-stake model for a carbon-neutral network might benefit BTC in the long run.
Proof-of-work mining is a relatively archaic concept these days, as there are much more elegant ways to secure a blockchain network without wasting precious electricity and hurting the environment.
Despite the reports that Bitcoin isn’t as environmentally friendly as people thought, BTC closed above $20k today. Its market capitalization is currently at $384 billion, with a 24-hour trading volume of $42 billion.
Ethereum News
As Ethereum continues to push the blockchain ecosystem regarding innovation, the media’s narrative starts to revolve around the idea that ETH could overtake BTC in the next several months or even years in terms of market cap.
The Flippening is becoming more and more real as Bitcoin’s market cap inches closer to Bitcoins. While still only roughly valued at 50% of BTC’s valuation, Ethereum could overtake Bitcoin next year.
At current prices, Ethereum needs to trade at $2,700 while Bitcoin remains at $20k for ETH to overtake BTC as the most-valued cryptocurrency on the market. These prices no longer seem like something out of the question, and the scenario of Ethereum becoming the most valued asset is becoming less a dream and more a potential reality.
After all, while Bitcoin makes for a great store of value, Ethereum is leading innovation. Ethereum’s network and smart contracts are why we have NFTs, Metaverse, DeFi, Move-to-Earn, and most other trends in crypto, which bring unparalleled utility and hype to the space. As such, the long-term potential for Ethereum is outstanding, and we recommend keeping a close eye on ETH in the next several months/years.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
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