At press time, the number one competitor to bitcoin and the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency is trading for a measly $510. This is about $11 less than where it stood 24 hours ago, and nearly $100 less than where it stood on Sunday. Ethereum has clearly shed quite a bit off its total, and it doesn’t appear to be stopping anytime soon.
All major cryptocurrencies are in the red after the Coinrail hack and recent action taken by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (subpoenas were sent to four top exchanges regarding bitcoin futures trading data). However, the downfall may be short-lived, as Ethereum now appears to be growing its popularity.
One piece of good news stems from Coinbase, which announced it will be adding Ethereum Classic to its list of offered cryptocurrencies. According to Coinmarketcap.com, Ethereum Classic is the 18th-largest digital asset, with a cap of roughly $1.56 billion. Executives of the digital trading platform claim that engineering for the currency’s support is now underway, and that Ethereum Classic will be offered in “all geographies where the asset is compliant with local law once the market reaches sufficient liquidity.”
In addition, billionaire investor Tim Draper had some very positive things to say about cryptocurrencies. Sticking to his guns, the digital finance mogul insists that bitcoin will strike the $250K point in the next few years, but that all forms of cryptocurrencies – including Ethereum – can expect to have their day in the limelight.
“I hold a lot of cryptocurrencies,” he explained. “I am buying more. I feel that crypto is the future. Fiat is the past. I do still have to hold some fiat currency for everyday transactions today, but I suspect that will change over the next few years. I cannot wait to be able to go to a store and make purchases using cryptocurrencies. Fiat currency will eventually become as passe as trying to pay for coffee with pennies.”
Draper also insists that Ethereum and other altcoins are not securities, and that classifying them as such is not accurate.
“They are very much currencies,” he confidently states. “They are recognized tender throughout the world. If you are a knee surgeon, everyone looks like they have a knee problem you need to solve. If you are a securities regulator, everything looks like a security to you, but unless the tokens are tethered, they are not securities in my view.”
This has been a subject of hot debate, as Ethereum – now largely decentralized – began as a presale (now ICO) coin, which could technically cause it to be registered as a security in the future, thereby docking its price heavily.
Still, Draper is confident regulators will find their way on cryptocurrencies, and that central currencies will eventually lose their hold on the world’s financial infrastructure.
“I expect that since cryptocurrencies will increase the velocity of money, the current $86 trillion global market for currency will grow to be about $140 trillion in the next ten years, and that growth will be in crypto,” he claims. “I estimate that fiat currencies will decrease in use, and that crypto will become as much as $100 trillion of that market.”
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