Despite the current pullback in prices, Ether (ETH) continues to outperform Bitcoin (BTC) as a major upgrade to the Ethereum blockchain approaches.
Bitcoin hit a low of $17,601 U.S. on June 19 and is up 21% since then and trading at $21,300 U.S. per coin, according to data from CoinDesk.
At the same time, Ethereum hit a low on June 19 of $880.93 U.S., and has since risen 100% to trade at $1,573.00 U.S.
The outperformance comes as a highly anticipated upgrade to the Ethereum blockchain nears. The upgrade, called the “Merge,” is slated to take place on September 15 following numerous delays in recent years.
The upgrade will see the Ether blockchain switch from an energy intensive “proof-of-work” system to a more energy efficient “proof-of-stake” model.
Advocates say that the Merge will make the Ethereum network faster, more energy-efficient, and more appealing to investors.
Ethereum and Bitcoin are still more than 50% below their all-time highs reached last November, and their prices have been slumping in recent days along with stocks as fears of a global recession intensify.
Cryptocurrencies have also been hit in recent weeks by numerous bankruptcies and liquidity problems that led to $2 trillion U.S. of value being wiped off the market.
However, some analysts expect the rally in Ethereum to resume and accelerate in the lead-up to the September 15 Merge, with forecasts that the price of Ethereum could surpass $2,000 U.S. per digital token.
