Ethereum strengthens the crypto markets

This Tuesday morning, a bullish Ethereum is keeping the crypto markets in positive territory, having risen well past the US$1,600 barrier on a 6% advance.

Traders are energized in the run-up to the Ethereum Merge, which is scheduled for next week.

On the other hand, Bitcoin has continued to move sideways and has yet to recapture the US$20,000 price level since falling four days ago.

As observers keep a careful eye on the one-trillion-dollar threshold, the cryptocurrency markets as a whole are trading at US$995 billion. Interestingly, Ethereum Classic (ETC) is one of today’s best achievers, increasing its market capitalization by more than 26,5%.

ETC is a carbon clone of Ethereum and may become a popular alternative for miners if Ethereum abandons mining following the Merge.

This morning, several Bitcoin alternatives, including Bitcoin Gold and Ravencoin, enjoyed double-digit rises, as did the smaller cap blockchain network Flux, which joined the table of the top-100 coin. Over the last 24 hours, most large-cap blockchain networks added green candlesticks, with Cardano, Solana, and Avalanche outperforming.

Helium, an internet-of-things initiative for decentralized WiFi connectivity, was the worst performer today, falling 6% to US$480 million.

Ethereum Miners Switch to ETC

However, miners are now shifting to ETC because their ETH mining hardware will become obsolete after The Merge, resulting in expensive equipment going to waste and their livelihoods jeopardized.

Furthermore, the greater the number of miners working on ETC, the less likely it is to fall victim to a 51% attack, as it will take a much larger group to establish the 51% majority required to change the blockchain.

Etherpool, Antpool, and BTC.com are among the top mining pools that have already declared support for ETC. If Ethereum Classic becomes the primary application of hash power, its risk exposures will be reduced to a bare minimum.