Ethereum update
Last week, we
reported that the Ethereum
hardfork had been delayed with no new date set. During the developers
call last Friday the leading developers decided to reschedule the
hardfork for 27 February 2019. This hardfork would reduce the amount of ether per block from 3 to 2, which would reduce the number of newly minted ether created, lowering the interest rate. Despite the delay and the price decline, the Ethereum network has continued to process a record number of transactions. The institutional research firm Diar
reported that in December Ethereum processed over 115 million ether on-chain. This highlights that even though price is down over 90% from the peak, transaction volume has been increasing over the past three months.
Markets bolstered by new supply
Over $15 billion in new cryptocurrency supply has been added to the crypto market cap over the course of 2018, which is roughly
12% of the total market cap. Almost a third of the increase in value is attributed to completely new projects that have entered the market. However, market cap is not necessary a proxy for the health of the blockchain ecosystem.