Cryptocurrency markets continue to show substantial bullish momentum this Saturday as Bitcoin and Ethereum continue their rally. Bitcoin is trading at $24.4k, surpassing its monthly high, while Ethereum is trading at $1.9k, looking to break past its three-month high of $2.1k. With the recent price hike for ETHUSD, its market cap surpassed half of Bitcoin’s, setting the stage for a potential “Flippening” later this year.
Ethereum’s Merge Trade Continues to Fuel ETHUSD
Ethereum continues outperforming Bitcoin daily, likely due to its upcoming network merge in September. Next month, Ethereum’s blockchain will transition from a legacy proof-of-work consensus model to an eco-friendly proof-of-stake model. With the network, merge come additional benefits like an increase in transaction throughput and scalability solutions, which could prepare Ethereum for the next wave of crypto adoption.
It only makes sense that the market is leaning towards Ethereum, given that it’s the leading smart contracts platform. Without Ethereum, we wouldn’t have the NFT, DeFi, and Metaverse revolution taking the crypto markets by storm and providing an opportunity for projects to offer genuine utility for the industry besides speculative trading.
Moreover, while Bitcoin’s 24-hour trading volume shows a decrease of over 12%, Ethereum’s trading volume is up 3% today, providing additional signals for a market reversal.
Regarding market dominance, BTC is at 39.9%, and ETH is at 20.6%. The next milestone for ETH is to break the 25% dominance, which could happen as early as next week if the bull market continues. With BlackRock’s recent launch of a private trust for Bitcoin, the asset management company could also open up the doors to Ethereum, fueling a never-before-seen rally for Ethereum.
Tornado Cash Developer Arrested
In relevant news, a Tornado Cash developer has been arrested in Amsterdam. The news comes several days after the U.S. Treasury sanctioned the notorious cryptocurrency mixer and prohibited United States citizens from interacting with the software.
According to Netherland authorities, the investigation into the crypto mixer started in June 2022. FIOD, a financial crimes investigative agency in Europe, arrested a 29-year-old on August 10th in connection with running and operating the Ethereum mixing service Tornado Cash.
In response to the U.S. Treasury sanctions and FIOD’s recent arrest, we’ve seen Tornado Cash’s cryptocurrency TORN drop from $30 to $10 in less than a week, signaling the end of the crypto mixer.
It’s unclear whether Tornado Cash has internal records, which could be helpful for authorities to deanonymize cryptocurrency transactions. However, if there’s a way to deobfuscate the millions in laundered funds, the developer would likely know how it could be done.
Ethereum Price Prediction for August 13th
Ethereum is likely to test support at the $1,900 level today. The rising trading volume suggests plenty of market momentum despite this Saturday. Moreover, as Ethereum continues to outperform Bitcoin daily, more traders are paying attention to ETHUSD. This will create a snowball effect, pushing bulls to Ethereum and decreasing Bitcoin’s dominance.
As we approach September’s merge date, we’re likely to see Ethereum surge past $2.1k and break its three-month high. Once that occurs, Ethereum could push as high as $3k if the network merge proves successful and will attempt to overtake Bitcoin in market capitalization.
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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