By Solomon Odunayo
As a recent data has it, Ethereum (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has surpassed the leading cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (BTC), in terms of unique addresses created, as the much-awaited Ethereum network upgrade approaches.
The data was shared a couple of hours ago via the official Twitter handle of intotheblock, a blockchain analytics channel. This is quite a major milestone that the Ethereum community will happily welcome.
According to the report captioned with a chart as proof, ETH now has a total number of 39.96 million active addresses, while Bitcoin (BTC) addresses stay at 30.1 million. This implies that Ethereum now leads Bitcoin by 9.86 million addresses.
“Strong community. With Ethereum making strides towards launching Ethereum 2.0, the total number of addresses holding ETH (39.96 million) has surpassed those holding Bitcoin (30.1 million),” intotheblock reported.
Strong community.
With #Ethereum making strides towards launching Ethereum 2.0, the total number of addresses holding #ETH (39.96 million) has surpassed those holding #Bitcoin (30.1 million).#crypto #blockchain #cryptocurrency $ETH #intotheblock #BTC pic.twitter.com/usOFL4kksx
— IntoTheBlock (@intotheblock) June 6, 2020
What Could Have Aided the Notable Increase?
One of the reasons that could easily be considered as the cause of the significant rise in Ethereum addresses is the increase in demand. The launch of ETH 2.0 is fast approaching, which could be prompting investors to keep accumulating. And this has hugely reflected on the price of ETH in the market year-to-date.
In total number of addresses, Ethereum significantly beats Bitcoin (BTC), but the reverse is the case when considering price increase momentum since the duos recorded their price all-time high. BTC is about 50% away from its ATH, unlike ETH that is over 100% away from its ATH.
However, some crypto analysts expect Ethereum to experience an increase above $300 as the community welcomes Ethereum 2.0. At press time, ETH is trading at $243.39, with a 0.39% price downtrend in the last 24 hours.
The Reason Ethereum (ETH) Network Upgrade Is Needed Now
In the past few days, there has been a notable increase in ETH network fees, enriching Ethereum miners in the process, which makes it more evident that the upgrade is needed now. The upgrade is expected to enhance the scalability of the Ethereum network.
According to glassnode, a channel that provides on-chain data analysis, the daily Ethereum network fees exceeded Bitcoin (BTC) fees some hours ago.
“Daily Ethereum network fees surpassed Bitcoin fees yesterday. Ethereum fees: $498k Bitcoin fees: $308k. So far, this has only happened on 141 days (8%),” glassnode reported.
Daily #Ethereum network fees surpassed #Bitcoin fees yesterday.
Ethereum fees: $498k
Bitcoin fees: $308kSo far, this has only happened on 141 days (8%).
Compare here: https://t.co/Dm72hMAPT8 pic.twitter.com/TsPd6rLQWj
— glassnode (@glassnode) June 7, 2020