This week is following pretty much the same trends as last. However that being said the Ethereum Classic price pump is far from over, even though the currency itself has not achieved any milestone's to deserve this rise whatsoever. Over the past 24 hours, EC appreciated by another 26.21% in value, pushing the Ethereum Classic price to $15.2. It is evident this trend may continue for some time, although it will run out of steam eventually.
It is always interesting to see if an altcoin gains value based on development updates or just speculation. In the latter case, speculation usually results in pump-and-dump schemes which can run for a few hours or even multiple days. We have seen a Bitcoin Cash pump last for about four days last week, which was rather impressive. It is possible Ethereum Classic will see the same cycle, as the volume is coming from the exact same exchange right now.
More specifically, the Ethereum Cash price has risen from $10 to $15.2 without any apparent reason. Although the current price appreciation is a direct reaction to Ethereum Classic losing a lot of value over the past few weeks due to the Bitcoin price movements, this major surge isn’t warranted whatsoever. Given the small volume needed to artificially inflate the Ethereum Classic price these days, a lot of profit can be made with very little effort. Once profit taking occurs en masse, this value will come down again sooner rather than later.
For the time being, no one knows when this will happen exactly. More specifically, the trading volume is picking up and ETC has reclaimed a spot in the top 10 cryptocurrencies ranked by market cap. One could argue the market cap of ETC is far beyond what it should be. Additionally, some of the coins in the top 10 are vastly undervalued and have been for quite some time now. Cryptocurrency continues to grow in general and all cryptocurrencies will see some form of uptrend sooner rather than later.
Speaking of the Ethereum Classic trading volume, over $588.5m worth of ETC has changed hands in the past 24 hours. This is a pretty solid number for an altcoin which serves a very limited purpose. It also shows how this price pump is attracting a lot of attention, even though the vast majority of volume comes from one South Korean exchange in particular. That in itself is not surprising whatsoever, as we have seen this particular platform generate a fair few pump-and-dump cycles for different cryptocurrencies as of late.
By now, most people have figured out this company is none other than Bithumb. It has over 53.13% of all ETC trading right now. Coinone, in second place, generated another 717.15%. It is evident that, without these platforms, there would be no Ethereum Classic price action whatsoever. Moreover, it shows how this is a clear pump-and-dump scheme that will end sooner or later. Bithumb traders will move on to the next coin in the coming days. It is unclear which one that will be, although Dash appears to be a likely candidate. Time will tell what the future holds.
Speculators have made a lot of money from this Ethereum Classic price pump, that much is evident. It is certainly possible we will see a new all-time high for ETC is this trend continues. Then again, the inevitable correction will push the price back down to its regular value of $10 or less. Remember to take profits whenever you can before this trend reverses in the near future. It is good to see altcoins recover, but this current trend is pretty blatant and not fueled by any major developments whatsoever.