opinion

Crypto SWOT: Ethereum completed a key revamp of its blockchain network

Kitco Media
By Frank E Holmes
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Strengths

  • Of the cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap, the best performer for the week was Celsius, rising 22.51%.

  • Bitcoin extended a rally amid a brighter mood in global markets and as traders await U.S. inflation data and monitor a seminal upgrade of the Ethereum blockchain. Bitcoin jumped about 10% on September 9 and 3.9% on Monday, trading above $22,000. The move was encouraged by a weaker dollar and as investors awaited U.S. inflation numbers, writes Bloomberg.

  • Ethereum has completed a key revamp of its blockchain network, marking the crypto world's most ambitious software upgrade to date. The change replaced power-hungry computers that were used to order transactions on the network with a more energy-efficient setup using piles of the network's native token, Ether. As a result, Ethereum's energy consumption will decline by an estimated 99%, writes Bloomberg.

Weaknesses

  • Of the cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap, the worst performing for the week was Terra Luna, down 53.30%.

  • Bitcoin tumbled more than 10%, the biggest decline since cryptocurrencies plunged in June, as the broad-based selloff in financial markets spilled over into the digital-asset sector. Ether fell almost 9%, even as its underlying Ethereum network was poised for a long-anticipated energy saving software upgrade, writes Bloomberg.  

  • BitGo is suing Mike Novogratz's Galaxy Digital Holdings for more than $100 million in damages after Galaxy abandoned its planned $1.2 billion acquisition of the crypto custodian. The lawsuit cited Galaxy's "wrongful repudiations and willful and international breach" of the merger agreement, according to public filing tied to the case and reported by Bloomberg.

Opportunities

  • The Blockchain Association, a prominent crypto trade group with members that include stable coin issuer Circle and exchanges Crypto.com and Kraken, is launching its own political action committee (PAC). The move represents another attempt from an industry under pressure to push U.S. politics in a more crypto-friendly direction, writes Bloomberg.

  • U.S. trading titans and brokerage firms are building a crypto exchange that brings investing in digital assets further into the domain of traditional finance, by mimicking the structure of how other asset classes trade. EDX Markets will start trading a limited number of spot crypto tokens starting with a November trail period with the official launch in January, according to a Bloomberg report.

  • A pair of former Citadel Securities employees are making public a market-making firm for cryptocurrencies they founded with the backing of $50 million from venture capitalists. Portofino provides crypto liquidity to financial institutions and high-net worth individuals (HNWIs), trading on both centralized and decentralized exchanges and over the counter (OTC). It also gives advice and technical support for Web3 startups seeking to list their assets on exchanges, writes Bloomberg.  

Threats

  • Customers with their life savings frozen on the insolvent crypto platform Voyager Digital are looking to a bankruptcy auction Tuesday for clues on whether or not they'll finally get their assets back. Voyager users have been unable to access their cryptocurrencies since July 1, when the meltdown in digital assets forced the company to suspend trading, deposits and withdrawals, according to an article published by Bloomberg.  

  • Ethermine, the largest Ethereum mining services provider by computing power, will shut down its servers for miners after the blockchain completes its historic technical upgrade. The news comes on the eve of Ethereum's highly anticipated software revamp, dubbed the Merge, which will shift the most used blockchain from a proof of work (PoW) consensus mechanism to proof of stake (PoS).  

  • Ether led digital assets lower after the groundbreaking software upgrade of the token's underlying network turned into what some market observers labeled a "sell the news" event. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization after Bitcoin dropped as much as 8.9% to $1,460.
Kitco Media

Frank E Holmes

Frank Holmes is CEO and chief investment officer of U.S. Global Investors, Inc., a boutique investment advisory firm based in San Antonio that manages domestic and offshore funds specializing in the natural resources and emerging markets sectors. The company’s no-load mutual funds include the Global Resources Fund (ticker PSPFX), the World Precious Minerals Fund (UNWPX) and the Gold Shares Fund (USERX).

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Frank Holmes
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