Ethereum rallies despite transaction volumes plummeting to a 12-month low
ETH's daily transaction volume is currently showcasing a 55% drop from its Dec 2021 levels.
- ETH-based dapps have seen their overall usage plummet 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 AUD$4,500 a few hours ago, Ethereum – the world's second largest cryptocurrency by total market capitalisation – has shown signs of a minor correction. Regardless, the altcoin is currently exhibiting fortnightly gains of just under 25% while trading at a price point of AUD$4,300.
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 US$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 continued to see 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 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 2 entry-level part-time developers. Therefore, by making a transition to SKALE, Bitenc believes 3air will be able to 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 US$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 US$3.6 billion (now valued at US$4.5.billion) worth of crypto — after hackers were able to make their 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
