Since hitting a low price in mid-June, ether has dramatically outperformed Bitcoin as investors anticipate a major upgrade to the ethereum blockchain.
Bitcoin plunged as low as $17,601 on June 19 and has surged to 31% since then as of Friday’s trading price, according to CoinDesk data.
Ether also hit its recent low on June 19 at $880.93, but has soared 106% since then.
The massive divergence in performance in the two largest cryptocurrencies is related to the long-awaited upgrade in the ethereum blockchain. Ether is the native cryptocurrency of the ethereum network.
Ethereum’s upgrade, called the “merge,” will take place on Sept. 15 after numerous delays. The blockchain will transition from the proof-of-work model to the proof-of-stake.
Crypto experts claimed the move will make the ethereum network faster and more energy-efficient.
“The upcoming Ethereum Merge is the biggest narrative in crypto right now and explains why Ether has left Bitcoin in its wake in the past month,” Antoni Trenchev, co-founder of crypto trading platform Nexo, told CNBC via email.
