Interestingly, Bitcoin Gold has also been up sharply over the past seven days: 47% as of this writing. But this Bitcoin alternative doesn't have a clear catalyst like Ethereum Classic.
This week's big gains in Ethereum Classic and Bitcoin Gold are interesting when you consider that they are both hard forks of Ethereum and Bitcoin, respectively.
Cryptocurrencies are decentralized. Private and independent parties make their computers available for the blockchain network. However, if the developers modify the code, the miners or validators could choose to continue using the old code and no one could stop them: a fork. Furthermore, developers could change things in different directions, leaving the parties to decide which blockchain to use.
Ethereum is nearing the complete shift from a proof-of-work blockchain to a proof-of-stake blockchain, which greatly alters the incentive structure of the network. Miners will no longer be able to operate as in the past. For this reason, it is speculated that miners will switch to Ethereum Classic, which could explain why it has earned so much in recent times.
As for Bitcoin Gold, I'm not sure why it's suddenly gaining momentum. According to CoinMarketCap, the trading volume has increased by more than 1.200% in the past 24 hours. It could be that traders are looking for popular cryptocurrency forks, considering Ethereum Classic is a fork and is performing well. But this is just speculation on my part.
Whether investing in stocks or cryptocurrencies, I recommend that you always look for fundamental reasons to be bullish. Therefore, I wouldn't get too excited about Bitcoin Gold today, as there doesn't seem to be a fundamental reason for its performance.
But Ethereum Classic is a different story. If Ethereum miners were to really abandon ship and switch blockchains, that would theoretically make Ethereum Classic more stable and secure, which could help increase long-term adoption. But this driver will remain quite speculative until the actual Ethereum merger, which probably won't happen until September.
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