The crypto industry is once again on a rampage to attain new records but it is on the bearish side of the market this time.
For instance, ethereum, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is suddenly reeling from its fall shortly after attaining its all-time high this month when it surpassed the $4,300 mark. At the time of writing, it is changing hands at $2,407.54 and has been down by 33% for the past seven days.
As if it weren’t enough already of a beating for the altcoin, per Glassnode analytics data, the number of ethereum investors holding at least 100 coins dropped to a three-year low of 42, 928.
The fall of ethereum
Ethereum’s plunge is happening at the same time when the broader crypto market is dealing with unfavorable news from many sources, starting with China, where bitcoin and crypto mining activities are concentrated, bringing the hammer down to those who still continue with their mining operations.
This follows an equally-bad development where financial institutions in the country are now banned from participating in any crypto-related transactions in an attempt to address the growing concerns of the negative impact of mining digital currencies, like bitcoin and ethereum, could have on the environment.
Ethereum is probably guilty
With the current Ethereum blockchain network still based on the Proof-of-Work model, the mining concerns cited by the Asian giant are valid. A shift to a more environmental-friendly Proof-of-Stake model is currently being worked on by Ethereum, but experts say it could take a lot of work and a lot of time.
As if being punished for being guilty, the price of the cryptocurrency continues to fall as large holders continue to give away their coins. Meanwhile, the network is pinning its hopes of a return to a bullish run on its forthcoming London Hardfork and EIP 1559 upgrade.
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