Ethereum leads fightback from crypto’s weekend whitewash

The altcoin Ether – brainchild of computer programmer Vitalik Buterin – was launched in 2015 and has long been considered the world number two in terms of market cap.

Given that one ETH amounts to around $280, whereas BTC currently weighs in at a hefty $10,150 it’s unlikely that it will ever play anything other than second fiddle. However, while the fortunes of Ethereum are often tied to those of bitcoin, the popular ETH appears to be showing signs of having the strongest recovery from the bruising weekend.

More than $26 billion was slashed off the combined cryptocurrency market cap, reducing it to $282 billion.

Ethereum felt the choking tug of a 13% pullback as everything from bitcoin to Tron were left stranded.

The market scything occurred after BTC suffered a punishing rejection to its claim for $10,500 before being forced back to the seemingly traditional $9,600 line of resistance.

A steady recovery since Monday has put the feel-good factor back into the cryptocurrency world, with bitcoin clawing its way back above the psychological barrier of $10k where it currently lingers around $10,100.

However, it is the performance of its sidekick ETH which has caught the post-weekend eye.

After reaching a lofty $287 by Friday night, it was caught in up in the crypto landslide that dumped it down to $240.

Yet, it was the first to emerge from the ensuing dust cloud this week and provide hope of a swift recovery.

A little sideways movement around $248 on Monday became a Tuesday turnaround and a solid build-up to $270 by the end of the day. Mid-week, and ETH is looking like it’s ready to make another step up as it walks the line of $280.

These may only be increments of about $10 a day – something bitcoin does within the blink of an eye – but in terms of recovery percentage after being dragged under the water it looks significant.

Investments around bitcoin these last few weeks have looked nervy against the backdrop of volatility – a notion proved with alarming reality over the weekend.

Ethereum on the other hand – so often the understudy in bitcoin’s shadow – is now looking like a serious alternative.

• Coin Rivet is a website bringing news, information, analysis, opinion and insight from the fast-moving blockchain world.

source: express.co.uk