Ahead of its September mainnet merger, Ethereum Classic led the way in a recent price jump that also included other altcoins and DeFi tokens.
Ethereum Classic (ETC), alongside other altcoins like Polygon (MATIC) and Uniswap (UNI), experienced a recent jump in prices. This development brought some much-needed relief to the crypto market, which has been primarily on a sustained downtrend.
In July, ETC saw a growth of 184%, almost tripling in price in the process. As some analysts put it, this development stays true to the crypto’s consistent record of rallying around major Ethereum upgrades. In addition, also benefiting from the recent upswing in crypto price were MATIC and UNI, which gained 102% and 86%, respectively. ETC, MATIC, UNI, as well as Ether (ETH) are among those that have combined to recover $1 billion in digital assets’ market value. Meanwhile, on the back of its recent rally, the total crypto market capitalization has rebounded to $1.14 trillion. This figure represents a substantial increment from last month’s low of $762.82 billion.
Besides Ethereum Classic and Leading Altcoins, DeFi Tokens Also Experience Jump in Prices
Analysts ascribe the recent upswing in prices to coin-specific factors at play alongside the broader market risk reset. Other notable decentralized finance (DeFi) tokens to rise substantially within the last 24 hours include Curve’s CRV (15.58%), Lido Finance’s LDO (11.1%), and Chainlink’s LINK (12.34%). As of press time, all three digital tokens are changing hands at $1.49, $2.24, and $7.75, respectively.
In addition, more DeFi tokens posted gains over the last 24 hours as well. They include Maker’s MKR (9.4%), Synthetix (9.4%), as well as 1inch Network’s 1INCH (7.7%).
Weighing in on the ETC jump, Lucas Outumuro, head of research at IntoTheBlock explained:
“ETC is being driven by speculation that ETH miners will go to ETC and potentially, there could be another hard fork benefiting them.”
Impending Ethereum Merge
Outumuro opines that the impending merge of the largest altcoin’s mainnet is a driving force behind the price increase. Sometime in fall, Ethereum looks to combine its proof-of-work (PoW) blockchain with a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain dubbed the Beacon Chain. The latter chain has been in operation since 2020. Following the successful merger, Ethereum will begin to operate as a PoS chain requiring new operational rules of engagement. Market participants, called validators, would have to hold or stake a minimum number of coins to confirm transactions in return for rewards. In the outgoing PoW system, miners had to solve computational problems to verify transactions.
The implication of the upcoming merge also means that Ethereum miners will almost certainly port to a new home, most likely ETC. Messari’s Sami Kasab spoke in ETC’s favor saying:
“Ethereum’s mining network is made up of two types of hardware: ASICs and GPUs. The problem with ASICs is that they can’t be repurposed for different applications besides mining ETH. Ethereum Classic is the only other PoW coin that can be mined with an ETH ASIC, since its hashing algorithm is compatible with ETH’s algorithm.”
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Tolu is a cryptocurrency and blockchain enthusiast based in Lagos. He likes to demystify crypto stories to the bare basics so that anyone anywhere can understand without too much background knowledge.
When he’s not neck-deep in crypto stories, Tolu enjoys music, loves to sing and is an avid movie lover.
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