It is evident that multiple altcoins are getting pumped right now. There is no real reason for a currency such as Ethereum Classic to have gone up in value by 15% over the past 24 hours. For some reason, that is exactly what has happened, as the Ethereum Classic price sits at US$17.38 at the time of writing. It’s an interesting development, as this sudden spike in trading volume shows how the markets are being manipulated as we speak.

Ethereum Classic Price Pump, Part III

The past two weeks have been pretty interesting for the Ethereum Classic price, even though things looked incredibly weak over most of this period. On November 2nd, the Ethereum Classic price hovered around US$10 after a slow and steady decline during the months prior. Ever since that time, however, there has been an increase in trading volume, resulting in an increase in the ETC price. So far, there have been three pump cycles to take note of, the latest occurring over the past 24 hours.

The first pump cycle saw the Ethereum Classic price reach US$12 on November 4th. Considering its trading volume increased fivefold from days prior, it became evident this was not natural growth whatsoever. A second cycle took place in the following two days, resulting in an Ethereum Classic price of US$15.2 at the peak. Again, we saw much higher volume numbers than usual, thanks largely to the Bithumb exchange. This trend has been pretty steady, as every Ethereum Classic price gain is driven by Bithumb trading rather than actual developments.

All of this brings us to the current Ethereum Classic price of US$17.38, which constitutes another 15.26% gain over the past 24 hours. With a 23.17% gain over Bitcoin – which is still struggling to find any solid support levels right now – things are looking pretty good for ETC holders. This development pushed ETC back into the #9 spot on the list of cryptocurrencies ranked by market cap. Whether or not it will maintain its position after this weekend remains to be seen.

This latest Ethereum Classic price pump is the direct result of a massively inflated trading volume. With US$572.5 million worth of ETC trading in the past 24 hours, it is evident that market manipulation is working at its finest right now. Indeed, this trading volume is well beyond the US$35 million that ETC normally generates during a day. It also shows how much money is being thrown around in cryptocurrency right now with the sole purpose of making coins look far more popular than they are. None of the coins which actually deserve attention get it because money flows elsewhere.

In the past 24 hours, Bithumb has generated nearly half of all ETC trades, just like it’s doing for Bitcoin Cash right now. It is evident that South Korean exchanges are taking China’s place when it comes to effectively manipulating cryptocurrency prices beyond belief. Coinone and Korbit are also among the top three exchanges ranked by trading volume. Once this volume shifts to the next coin to pump and dump – which may be Dash, by the looks of things – the Ethereum Classic price will start tumbling down once again.

In the end, there are those who make good money by getting in on cryptocurrency pump cycles and those who stand to lose it all. Chasing a pump such as Ethereum Classic is never a good idea when you don’t know where the top is. It is evident the Ethereum Classic price may continue to rise for some time to come, although reaching US$20 may be a bit too steep of a challenge. Always remember to take profits before the pumpers decide to offload and take your hard-earned money along with them. Cryptocurrency markets are not charities by any means; that much is certain.