Ether Tops $3.5K After Record Daily Coin Burn; Bitcoin’s Rangeplay Continues

Ethereum destroyed 12,000 coins on Tuesday, the most in a single day since the EIP 1559 activation.

AccessTimeIconSep 1, 2021 at 10:21 a.m. UTC
Updated May 11, 2023 at 5:28 p.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

Ether climbed to a 3 1/2-month high a day after Ethereum set a new record for daily coin burn. Bitcoin continues to trade sideways as August’s top performer, SOL, takes a bull breather.

Ether, the native token of Ethereum’s blockchain and the second-largest coin by market value, is trading above $3,500 for the first time since May 18, CoinDesk 20 data show.

The cryptocurrency has gained 4.5% in the past 24 hours. The advance confirms a breakout from the recent two-week trading range of $3,000 to $3,400, setting the stage for an extension of the bullish move from July lows near $1,800.

“The latest move higher represents a bullish continuation of the Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 1559-driven rally, which is probably enhanced via the ongoing non-fungible tokens (NFT) hype, which mainly happens on Ethereum,” said Simon Dedic, managing partner of Moonrock Capital, a London-based blockchain advisory and investment partnership firm. The EIP burns a portion of fees paid to miners.

Ether hits the highest level since May 18
Ether hits the highest level since May 18

Data tracked by crypto intelligence platform OKLink shows Ehereum burnt 12,000 ETH on Tuesday, a daily record for coins destroyed since the implementation of EIP 1559 on Aug. 5. Of the total coins destroyed, the NFT market OpenSea accounted for 2,000 ETH. The EIP 1559 has destroyed nearly 40% of the coin issued since activation.

Daily ether burn (Source: OKLink)

Alex Svanevik, CEO of blockchain data company Nansen, also cited the NFT boom and the resulting decline in the net ether issuance as a bullish catalyst along with the continued rise in the amount of ether staked in the Beacon Chain, which introduced proof-of-staking to Ethereum’s blockchain last December. Glassnode data show there are now more than 7 million ether worth $24.8 billion held in the deposit contract for the Ethereum 2.0 Beacon chain. As discussed yesterday, analysts expect the combination of these factors to lead to a supply crisis in the ether market.

The market sentiment may have received a boost from Offchain Lab’s rollout of Arbitrum One, an Ethereum scaling solution that uses optimistic rollups technology to process transactions at a higher speed and lower cost than the Ethereum mainnet.

Indeed, Arbitrum facilitating relatively low-cost transactions could mean ether burn. However, along with other scaling solutions such as Polygon, the project will help ease Ethereum network congestion and bring long-term value to the smart contract blockchain. Arbitrum’s mainnet went live on Tuesday.

While ether is gaining altitude, bitcoin remains locked in the narrow range of $46,000 to $50,000. According to Delphi Digital, blockchain data shows continued accumulation by holders amid the range play.

Ethereum alternative Solana’s SOL token is trading near $110, having pulled back sharply from record highs near $130 reached Tuesday. Investors could be rotating money back to ether, having bought Solana and other so-called Ethereum killers in the second half of August. SOL nearly tripled in the second half of August and ended the month with a 194% gain.

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

Omkar Godbole

Omkar Godbole is a Co-Managing Editor on CoinDesk's Markets team.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.


Read more about