- After its Merge, Ethereum has grown to be the largest proof-of-stake blockchain, with over 491,000 validators protecting the network.
- The blockchain dominates NFTs by a wide margin, with the network minting tokens valued at more than $23.7 billion this year.
- In related news, Bloomberg’s senior macro strategist Mike McGlone predicts that during the upcoming bull run, ETH will outperform BTC.
Even though Ethereum (ETH) has had difficulties for the majority of the year, its fundamentals appear to be stronger than its present market value.
This year, the network’s eagerly awaited Merge went live as it switched to a proof-of-stake consensus process. As validators took the place of miners, the blockchain had significant effects, with a 98% reduction in energy use.
With ETH trading around $1,217 more than 100 days after the Merge, it continues to struggle below $1,500. Over 490,000 validators are now active on the network, and that number is anticipated to rise in 2022. Beaconcha.in, an open-source Ethereum blockchain explorer, reports that since September, 15.7 million ETH worth almost $19.2 billion have been staked on the network.
After ETH2, which would make the platform more effective and faster, ETH had great hopes for the new year, but the price has fallen in recent months. Even though the fundamentals of the asset often impress market analysts, its value has dropped by almost 55% this year.
In the upcoming bull run, Mike McGlone, senior macro strategist at Bloomberg, believes ETH will surpass its rival Bitcoin (BTC). He thinks differently about ETH now that there are active smart contracts on the network and more and more people are using it.
“Migration into the mainstream is our key takeaway and once the dust settles from some reversion in risk assets amid inflation pressures, Ethereum is more likely to resume doing what it has been—outperforming”
NFTs are still at home
The largest smart contract-enabled network is the Ethereum Network, which has attracted a significant number of decentralised applications (DApps) over time. The Ethereum blockchain is home to some of the most well-known non-fungible token (NFT) projects, such as CryptoPunks, Axie Infinity, Decentraland, etc. NFTs are more prevalent on Ethereum.
NFTs worth more than $23.7 billion were created on Ethereum this year, keeping it ahead of its nearest competitors, Solana and Cardano. Solana’s NFT mints reached an all-time high this year amid several rumours that it may dethrone Ethereum as the centre for NFTs, but so yet, Ethereum reigns supreme.
