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And ETH szn?
It’s hard to be ETH right now.
It’s struggling to keep up with Bitcoin — ETH is down 33% over the past year versus BTC — and it’s also lagging the market over the past year.
If you were to simply boil down ETH to its ETFs, you would see an incredibly different story than Bitcoin ETFs, which not only kicked off the year but quickly broke records. Ether ETFs, on the other hand, have not received this type of reception in the market.
(I should point out here that ETH is very different from BTC in many ways, but for the purposes of the ETF talk I had to simplify the two.)
As ETH continues to struggle, the question that comes to mind is simple: where do we go from here?
K33 analyst David Zimmerman told me he thinks ETH needs more positive flows from ETFs to move into high gear.
“This does not necessarily mean that institutional purchases alone will drive prices higher, but rather that it would be necessary to change ETH sentiment. ETF flows are now the major focus for ETH. ETH ETFs have yet to benefit from the large inflows that BTC ETFs have experienced (even in relative terms). In my eyes, ETH is now an institutional asset, and the big guns need to show interest first if we want retail to come on board,” Zimmerman said.
Jordi Alexander, who joined the Empire podcast for an episode this week, presented his bullish and bearish arguments for ETH.
“Ethereum is where it can be unleashed into DeFi, lending and everything else. And instead of focusing on its own monetary properties, it could try to integrate Bitcoin and then just use what you know, billions of value to release it. I do think though that ETH has a chance of getting some monetary premium, and I think Western countries that are more woke and environmentally friendly don’t want mining,” he said. told Empire’s Jason Yanowitz.
“You remember that Elon Musk just threw away all his bitcoins because of mining… So there might be a significant contingent that wants Ethereum to be like a safer, cleaner form of native digital currency. So that’s the case with the bull, and maybe it will happen.
The downside scenario, he added, is “simply more dispersion.”
Speaking of bears, the sentiment on Crypto Twitter, as Yanowitz pointed out in Empire, is that Solana is eating “ETH’s lunch.”
“I think that’s been the story of this market for a while and I expect it to continue,” Zimmerman said.
“SOL has managed to consolidate its place in crypto. I isolate ETH as an institutional asset in its own category, while I view Solana as the top L1 of the “rest of the pack.” I don’t really think in terms of “ETH killers” or “ETH competitors” anymore. If anything, I’m focusing more on SOL’s competitors that can draw attention away from SOL, as SUI has done recently. If the bullish momentum continues in Q4, I expect SUI to continue to do well, while the market will likely also move towards other L1 coins such as APT,” he continued.
SOL, SUI, and APT are expected to outperform ETH in a bullish environment, but Zimmerman was careful to add that he still thinks ETH can be a good allocation for some people.
“Holding it carries less risk than the rest, and chasing rotations through different L1s can also be tricky and stressful.”
But a comment from Alexandre struck me. What should Vitalik Buterin’s role be?
Alexander suggested that the ETH code should “speak for itself”, which would mean that Buterin should step down in some way (Alexander has two ideas for him: disassociate or take his retirement).
Zimmerman, frankly, said he’s not sure what kind of role Buterin should play, but he’s not convinced by going too far given that he brings “real value” with his knowledge and global technical expertise.
Putting Buterin aside, until we see more inflows into ETFs, it will be difficult to make Zimmerman a bull.
Sorry friends, no ETH version yet.
-Katherine Ross
Data Center
- The ether is in place 1% over the last daysitting around $2,635.
- Bitcoin has not experienced the same gains, up slightly to $63,763.
- EigenLayer EIGEN unlocked last nighttrading around $3.82 Tuesday morning. It debuted at $6.51 billion FDV, per CoinDesk.
- Popcat, Fantom and Bonk leads the best gainers this morningwhile TIA, JASMY and WLD are all in the red.
- The total value of the stablecoin is down more than 2.2% to $171 billion over the past 30 days, although stablecoins hit an all-time high in August, according to data from rwa.xyz.
The Works
- Jesse Pollakcreator of Basesaid on X that he would also direct Coinbase wallet team.
- Two elderly people Coin Center staffers, including Executive Director Jerry Brito, are expected to leave after a decade with the Washington-based advocacy group.
- THE SECOND obtained summary judgment against Rivetzafter alleging that the crypto company sold unregistered securities, according to CoinDesk.
- from Robinhood European users can now transfer cryptocurrencies to and from its app, according to CNBC.
- Metaplanet purchased an additional 107.91 BTC, according to the publicly traded company’s X account.
The riff
Question : Without permission starts in a little over a week. What are you most passionate about?
Although I won’t be in Salt Lake City myself, here’s my list: Bitcoin DeFi, regulation/policy, and a handful of vibes.
It’s perhaps the last one that interests me the most. Where are the vibes right now? Where is the wind blowing these days? Crypto often feels like an industry searching for direction. At least here in the US, a lot (I feel like) depends on the upcoming election season – for better or worse, I don’t know.
Events like Permissionless are great for putting your thumbs up and getting a feel for where things are headed. And even though I will not be physically present, I expect such responses.
-Michael McSweeney
Honestly? People. Panels are a close second, given the variety of topics that will be covered.
Of course, I have to tout one of my own panels (yes, I’m biased here). NFT: The Comeback, which will take place on Friday October 11.
IMO, NFTs are in a very interesting situation right now given the sudden regulatory interest, but still an overall lackluster appetite. The panel includes Luca Netz of Pudgy Penguins, Devin Finzer of OpenSea and Pacman of Blur. This should be an interesting conversation, considering the three unique perspectives on stage.
But hands down the best part of crypto events is getting to interact with people who are building, innovating, and eager to connect.
If you’re heading to SLC next week, say hello if you see a redhead wandering around the convention center.
-Katherine Ross
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