Ethereum classic is the latest altcoin to go bananas this month. | Source: mk1one/Shutterstock.com
- The ethereum classic price (ETC) rallied 40% over the last 24 hours. ETC has more than doubled this week.
- ETC is now a top 10 cryptocurrency by market cap. An ETC futures product that launched this week catalyzed the price action.
- A recent technical upgrade is also a likely factor.
The ethereum classic price is riding high on Friday, as a crucial technical upgrade partnered with a dash of Binance leverage to launch the lesser-known altcoin into the stratosphere.
Ethereum classic went parabolic over the last 72 hours as an ETC futures product launched on Binance. | Graph: CoinMarketCap
ETC zoomed as high as $10.11 on Thursday evening. That doubled the altcoin’s price for a 100% gain over $5.07 a week earlier.
The Asian and European sessions decisively breached resistance at the $9.50 level Friday. Another breakout at the $10.00 level sent the price spiraling higher. It blasted through $11.00, stopping just short of $12.00 by early Friday afternoon.
The parabolic price movements inaugurated ETC into the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. It leapfrogged several other cryptos along the way.
Binance Launches Ethereum Classic Futures
Binance launched ethereum classic futures this week. | Source: Reuters/Darrin Zammit Lupi
This week’s addition of an ethereum classic futures product to Binance has launched ETC’s price into orbit. The ETC futures are available with up to 75x leverage. Crypto derivatives traders are apparently using the leverage to go long!
Another likely, though less potent, factor in the sudden rally is the Agharta upgrade to the ETC implementation. The software upgrades were deployed via a non-contentious hard fork, and they make ETC more interoperable with its sister blockchain, Ethereum.
The Ethereum Classic Cooperative has had to warn against scammers who have tried to offer “Agharta coins.” The scammers are fraudulently claiming Sunday’s fork created a new cryptocurrency. The scheme’s website says, “Make ethereum classic great again!”
Source: Twitter
It’s Altcoin Season for BTC and ETH Forks
Bitcoin and ethereum have posted considerable gains in January. The cryptocurrency industry’s two biggest blue-chip coins continue to rally from mid-December lows. But as far as parabolic crypto price surges go, it’s altcoin season.
And many of the coins experiencing sudden price spikes seem to be the ones that forked from bitcoin or ethereum: bitcoin cash, bitcoin SV, ethereum classic, bitcoin gold, and even bitcoin diamond.
Disclaimer: The reports and opinions in this article do not represent investment or trading advice from CCN.com.
This article was edited by Josiah Wilmoth.
The post appeared first on CCN
