As we had expected yesterday, it was only a matter of time until the Ethereum price reached a new all-time high. It did so overnight, and it seems the positive momentum is still firmly in place as we speak. Despite a massive retracement after the ATH of US$424 was set, the Ethereum price is moving up again and may set an even higher record in the coming hours.
Ethereum Momentum Remains Strong
As is often the case whenever a cryptocurrency reaches a new all-time high, there will be a sharp correction shortly afterward. In the case of the Ethereum price, that all-time high of just over US$424 was followed by a dip to US$403.4. Such a retracement is always to be expected, yet it seems the market has recovered pretty well since an initial rejection off the US$415 level.
Today was the first time in history when one Ether was worth over US$424. This new all-time high has been coming for quite some time now, despite some mishaps affecting the Ethereum ecosystem. The Parity multisig bug is just the latest incident in the growing list of “unfortunate accidents” plaguing this ecosystem. Surprisingly, this hasn’t had any negative impact on the Ethereum price, which is surging toward yet another all-time high as we speak.
If the latest all-time high can be improved upon, it will be a bit difficult to predict where the Ethereum price may head next. Some people claim ETH will reach a value of US$500 per coin before the year is over, but that may be a bit too ambitious at this point in time. Then again, we have seen stranger things happen in the world of cryptocurrency this year. For now, the best option is to take profits if needed and hold on to the rest of your coins in case it shoots up to US$500.
Thanks to over US$1.8 million in 24-hour trading volume, Ethereum’s momentum may be sustained for a few more days. It is always interesting to see how certain currencies generate over a billion dollars’ worth of 24-hour trading volume with ease, whereas others struggle to reach a stable US$100 million day after day. Speculation is a driving factor for all cryptocurrencies, and Ethereum is certainly subject to a lot of speculation, just like Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash.
As is to be expected, the vast majority of Ethereum’s trading volume originates from the Bithumb exchange. What is rather unusual and surprising is how Bitfinex almost matches the former’s volume over the past 24 hours. Even more surprisingly, GDAX is listed third on the list of exchanges ranked by trading volume. Some interesting things are taking place in the cryptocurrency world right now; that much is evident. How all of this will play out for Ethereum remains to be seen, though. Bithumb is trading Ethereum at a US$10 premium compared to the rest of the exchanges.
It is unclear what the future holds for the Ethereum price. All signs point toward more upward momentum, but there is only so much growth to be achieved before this turns into a pump-and-dump cycle. The US$90 gain over the past week constitutes a nearly 30% value increase for Ethereum. There is no need to get greedy at times like this, even though it is difficult not to get swept up in the momentum. The year 2017 has been pretty spectacular for all cryptocurrencies, and we may see some more surprises in the coming weeks.
