There is never a boring day in the world of cryptocurrency. Over the past 24 hours, the value of Ethereum’s Ether token has increased in value quite significantly. In fact, it is inching toward the US$300 mark, which is quite impressive. Moreover, there is over US$875m worth of trading volume for Ethereum, which is spectacular as well. The question is whether or not Ether will reach US$300 before Bitcoin breaks US$3,000.
Exciting Times for Bitcoin and Ethereum Holders
Depending on whom you pose the question to, Ethereum may or may not overtake Bitcoin in terms of market cap. Right now, Bitcoin’s market cap sits at US$46.495bn, whereas Ethereum’s comes in at US$27.313bn. Both numbers are very spectacular, and much higher than people would have anticipated about a year ago. This goes to show how much the cryptocurrency ecosystem has grown over the past 18 months.
What is even more interesting is how Ethereum’s ETH token is on the brink of reaching the US$300 value. Just a few months ago, that same Ether was worth under US$50. Anyone who invested in Ethereum around early April 2017 will have seen returns of over 500% since that time. This is incredible growth, which can only be achieved in the world of cryptocurrency these days. Traditional investment vehicles may yield a 1-5% profit over a year, which is next to nothing compared to Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The bigger question is whether or not Ether can reach US$300 before Bitcoin reaches US$3,000. It is evident Ether only needs to make a US$8 gain to make this happen. Bitcoin, on the other hand, needs to increase by US$114 before it reaches US$3,000. Do not be fooled by this sheer imbalance, though, as the small gains are often much harder compared to large price swings. Plus, Bitcoin has been on the verge of reaching US$3,000 for some time now.
It is evident the overall trading volume of both currencies is picking up, though. Ethereum has seen over US$880m in 24-hour trading volume, whereas Bitcoin sits at US$1.58bn. Based on these numbers, it would be logical to think Bitcoin will hit that US$3,000 mark a lot sooner, but anything can happen in cryptocurrency. It is also about being able to maintain these new price points, which may be a lot more difficult for Ethereum than it is for Bitcoin. More specifically, the Ether price has risen by over 11.5% over the past 24 hours, which is a significant jump in value.
No one will be surprised to learn Korean traders are the main source for this price momentum. The ETH/KRW and BTC/KRW trading markets are incredibly popular over the past few weeks, and it looks like this momentum will not relent anytime soon. Interestingly enough, the ETH/KRW market on Bithumb is slightly larger compared to Poloniex’s ETH/BTC market right now. For Bitcoin, its largest markets all originate from Poloniex, whereas Bithumb is the first major fiat currency market.
It is evident some exciting things are looming on the horizon for both Ether and Bitcoin. The fiat currency markets in Korea clearly favor ETH over BTC, as there is a US$90m gap between the two. It will be quite interesting to keep an eye on this “race’, that much is evident. These are very exciting days to be involved in cryptocurrency, and it looks like the party is only just getting started.
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