Ethereum rallies despite transaction volumes plummeting to a 12-month low
Ethereum’s daily transaction volume is currently showcasing a 55% drop from its December 2021 levels.
- Usage of ETH-based dapps has plummeted by 30% since the start of the year.
- Prominent blockchain firm 3air has abandoned its use of the Cardano network in lieu of Ethereum, citing talent availability.
- Ethereum’s market dominance index currently stands at 18%.
After hitting a relative high of $3,260 in the last 24 hours, Ethereum (ETH) has shown signs of a minor correction. The altcoin is currently exhibiting fortnightly gains of just under 25% while trading at $3,123.
The ongoing ascent comes amidst news that Big Four auditor KPMG (Canada) has added Ethereum and Bitcoin to its crypto balance sheet. As per the firm’s managing partner Benjie Thomas, these assets can no longer be ignored by traditional market players, even going as far as saying that the ETH and BTC are now part of a “mature asset class.”
While Ethereum continues to rise, on-chain data suggests that the digital asset’s daily transaction volume — which currently stands at $6.2 billion — has dipped by a whopping 55% since mid-December. Not only that, the metric is currently hovering close to its 12-month low, leading analysts to suggest that the ongoing surge may be a bit premature.
Similarly, even Ether-based dapps have seen their number of active addresses dwindle, so much so that the total volume of individuals making use of these services has dropped by nearly 30% over the last 30 days.
Blockchain firm ditches Cardano in lieu of Ethereum Layer-2 solution
3air, an Africa-focused blockchain Internet company, recently revealed that it had decided to abandon its use of Cardano (ADA) in lieu of ETH layer-2 solution SKALE, citing a “massive talent shortage” of Haskell developers — ADA’s native smart contract programming language.
As per the company’s CEO Sandi Bitenc, after spending months looking for dev talent, the firm could only find two entry-level part-time developers. Therefore, by making a transition to SKALE, Bitenc believes 3air can meet its envisioned development goals in a timely fashion. SKALE is touted to be a scalability-focused platform boasting of extremely quick transactions, zero gas fees and cross-chain capabilities.
US regulators seize $3.6 billion related to 2016 Bitfinex hack
The US Department of Justice (DoJ) revealed that it has made notable arrests — as well as seized more than $3.6 billion worth of crypto, now valued at $4.5.billion — after hackers made way with 119,756 Bitcoin from prominent cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex nearly half a decade ago.
The government body noted that it had issued an arrest warrant for Ilya Lichtenstein and his wife Heather Morgan for masterminding the aforementioned laundering operation. A representative for the DoJ also pointed out that since the hack, the accused individuals periodically transferred small amounts of BTC in separate transactions while leaving a bulk of the assets completely untouched in a cold wallet.
Interested in cryptocurrency? Learn more about the basics with our beginner’s guide to Bitcoin, dive deeper by learning about Ethereum and see what blockchain can do with our simple guide to DeFi.
Disclosure: The author owns a range of cryptocurrencies at the time of writing
