According to data from CryptoCompare, around 20:20 UTC on Saturday (July 25), Bitcoin (BTC) went above $9,700 for the first time since June 11 and Ethereum (ETH) surged past $300, a level last seen on 10 July 2019. Meanwhile, gold ended the week above $1900, close to its 2011 all-time high.
Bitcoin closed on Saturday (UTC time) at $9,707. Today (July 26), Bitcoin has extended its rally, and it is currently (as of 09:11 UTC on July 26) trading at $9,772, up 1.73% in the past 24-hour period:
As for Etheruem, around the time that Bitcoin went above $9,700, Ethereum managed to surge past the $300 level to close at $306.81. Before yesterday, the last time Ethereum had closed above $300 was on 10 July 2019.
Currently (i.e. as of 09:26 UTC on July 26), the second-most valuable cryptoasset by market cap is trading at $315.18, up 10.73% in the past 24-hour period:
In 2020, against USD, Bitcoin and Ethereum are up 36.04% and 144.50% respectively.
Today, out of the top 30 cryptoassets, 28 are in the green.
Meanwhile, gold, which had an intraday high of $1,906 an ounce on Friday (July 24), closed the week at $1,901.30, which is very close to the all-time high price of $1,918 set on 1 September 2011; since the start of the year, the gold price has gone up just over 25% against USD.
As for U.S. stocks, the tech sector continues to lead, with the Nasdaq closing the week at 10,363.18, which means it is up 21.09% in the year-to-date period.
So, what is the reason for the rallies that Bitcoin, Ethereum, and gold are currently having?
Well, with regard to Bitcoin and gold, both of which many people see as stores of value, there are two possible reasons for their recent rallies:
- The worsening COVID-19 situation in the U.S. (CNBC says that Friday marked “the first time since late May the daily death toll totaled above 1,000 for four consecutive days”) means that economy recovery there could take much longer than expected, and therefore will require further fiscal and monetary stimulus measures (e.g., next week, the U.S. Congress should be announcing a $2-3 trillion aid package).
- Escalating tensions between the U.S. and China as the result of trade disputes, China’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic back in January/February, and China’s stance towards Hong Kong.
But what about Ethereum, well, Ethereum has done very well in 2020 (up 144.50% in the YTD period), its performance over the past few months has been modest when compared to ERC-20 DeFi tokens, e.g. Aave (LEND) is up around 1,480% in the YTD period. It looks like the market is finally hearing the cries of ETH HODLers who have been saying for months that Ethereum is severely undervalued (especially when you consider that ETH 2.0 is set to launch in a few months).
Featured Image by “WorldSpectrum” via Pixabay.com
