As for the Ethereum ecosystem, a lot has been taking place underground with the launching of phase 0 of ETH 2.0 that encompasses the Beacon Chain launch with notable investors on board.
December 16, 2020, was a huge surprise for the entire crypto industry as the mother coin, Bitcoin (BTC), not only hit its 2017 ATH but also surpassed it with rejuvenated energy, in addition, Ether (ETH) was not left behind as it rallied to reach a new 2020 high.Incidentally, most altcoins have followed the same path led by XRP, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash. The rally has been mostly fueled by the increased institutional investors amid global retail adoption.Mind you, most altcoins have significantly shifted from the speculation point of view to utility-based adoption.While Bitcoin continues to rally, trading at around $22,392.08 according to the metrics by CoinGecko, with no upper limits or resistance levels to break, the rally is expected to be enormous based on accumulated fundamentals.Notably, Gold on the other hand is stuck around the same level, below $19k. This makes an investment in Bitcoin or other digital assets more lucrative than Gold.Bitcoin is now up approximately 226% in the past year and has managed to add 34.7% in the past 30 days. Out of which 16% of the gains have been materialized in the past 24 hours. The asset had a market capitalization of around $417,788,356,685 with its past 24 hour volume at around $49,043,802,080.Ethereum on the other hand was trading around $648.29 at the time of reporting according to the market data provided by Coinmarketcap. The asset has a market capitalization of around $73,345,105,175 with its past 24 hour trading volume at around $20,024,815,082. Notably, Ether is now up approximately 390% in the past one year. In addition, the asset has managed to add around 41%, 8.7%, 13.4%, and 11% in the past 30 days, two weeks, seven days and 24 hours respectively.Events that Led in Bitcoin and Ether New 2020 ATHAs for the Ethereum ecosystem, a lot has been taking place underground with the launching of phase 0 of ETH 2.0 that encompasses the Beacon Chain launch with notable investors on board.The Ethereum ecosystem is slowly migrating to the proof of stake mechanism that promises a scalable network with less gas fees. In addition to increased institutional investors, the Ethereum ecosystem received a new boost after the Chicago Mercantile Exchange announced plans to launch ETH futures contracts in 2021.Awaiting regulatory approval, once Ether is listed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the asset will attract more institutional traders.As for Bitcoin, Institutional investors have been the leading factor to the new bull rally. This is further dissected by the latest update provided by Grayscale Investments that shows Bitcoin is leading in its AUM with over $11.5 billion.
