Renowned analyst Mike McGlone says that the leading altcoin Ethereum will eclipse Bitcoin in the crypto outlook for 2023. Meanwhile, the altcoin price continues to rise with the increasing activity of whales.
“Leading altcoin will outperform Bitcoin”
Bloomberg commodity analyst Mike McGlone recently published a report stating that Ethereum’s performance compared to Bitcoin is promising in 2022 despite the dismal price action of most risk assets. Ethereum’s growth may have reached a breaking point after the transition to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) in September. This means it can gain ground against both Bitcoin and the stock market. Also, McGlone believes that a key support/resistance level for Ethereum is in the $1,000-$2,000 range for the second-largest cryptocurrency.
McGlone highlights Solana’s 97% drop as an example of speculative excesses in cryptos liquidated after a sparkling 2021. cryptocoin.com As you follow, Major Ethereum competitor was hit particularly hard by the collapse of the FTX exchange. But it has since rebounded in light of the BONK airdrop.
According to McGlone, cryptocurrencies appear to be facing their first major global economic slowdown. However, it is possible for them to prevail over traditional financial systems, especially Bitcoin and Ethereum. According to McGlone, Blockchain technologies will continue to expand and bring new opportunities throughout 2023, as more people abandon mainstream investment vehicles and add crypto to their portfolios.
Ethereum sees increase in whale activity
Whales processed 611 transactions in the past day, according to data from on-chain analytics firm Santiment. The relevant indicator here is the ‘whale transaction count’, which measures the total number of Ethereum transfers on the Blockchain with a value of more than $100,000.
When the value of this metric is high, the whales are currently processing a large number of transactions. Since whale transactions involve the movement of a significant number of coins, their occurrence close enough to each other can have noticeable effects on the crypto price. Therefore, periods with high values of the metric can be highly volatile. On the other hand, low values indicate that whales are not that active at the moment. This may cause the price not to observe a significant movement. The chart below shows the trend in Ethereum whale transaction count over the past month.
The value of the metric seems relatively high lately | Source: SantimentImpact of whale activity on altcoin price
As the chart above shows, the number of Ethereum whale transactions has seen an increase in the past day. During this period of high activity, the whales have made 611 transactions so far. This is the highest since Dec. 16, when the altcoin saw a sharp downward move and formed a local bottom near $1,160. This increase from the December 16 trough was larger than the current one in magnitude. It was also a sign that a large number of whales were buying crypto at these low prices. On the other hand, the most recent spike occurred while the ETH price was rising, as can be seen from the chart.
One possibility could mean that the whales are optimistic about this latest accumulation and therefore buy more while they still can. This kind of support from these tremendous owners could drive the rally even further. Thus, it can push Ethereum higher. However, another possible scenario could be that these quick transactions happen for sale purposes instead. If this is true, then this will be a hurdle to the latest price increase, as was already the case with the rally above $1,300 in the first half of December. At the time of writing, the altcoin price is fluctuating around $1,250, up about 5% on a weekly basis.
Ethereum weekly price chart / Source: CoinMarketCap