As of 4:30 p.m. ET, Ethereum (ETH 0.11%) is making a very nice move higher. Up 4.6% over the past 24 hours, Ethereum has at least partly reversed what was a rather bleak double-digit decline for the world's second-largest token last week.
CRYPTO: ETH
Key Data Points
As most investors are well aware, Ethereum's role in the cryptocurrency sector is really unmatched. The world's largest decentralized smart contract-enabled layer-1 platform, Ethereum is still the go-to choice for developers and users looking to build or use the best decentralized applications the crypto sector has to offer.
As we enter a new week in which spirits appear to be much better than they were to start last week, let's dive into what's driving this move in Ethereum today.
Ethereum's rally is welcome
Source: Getty Images.
Tom Lee's Bitmine (and Ethereum treasury company) just bought more than 40,000 ETH over the past week, boosting the company's holdings to slightly more than 3.5% of the outstanding supply of the world's second-largest cryptocurrency. Lee and others have touted 5% as a special tipping point for the firm, giving it a dominant position in driving the circulating supply of Ethereum lower (and providing greater impetus for other bulls to take future rallies to the next level).
We'll have to see if he's ultimately able to get BitMine's holdings to this level. Indeed, at sub-$3,000 per token, it's much cheaper to acquire a larger stake in Ethereum right now. And if you believe (as ardently as Tom Lee and other Ethereum bulls do) that Ethereum will remain the base layer for most of the future innovation and growth we're going to see out of the DeFi sector, this is a token to pay attention to.
I'd expect a confluence of improving supply and demand fundamentals, along with increasing on-chain usage, to drive a bullish narrative around Ethereum for the remainder of the year. I may be wrong, but Tom Lee's courageous purchases at a time like this are certainly noteworthy, and investors are clearly taking note.
