(Bloomberg) — Ethereum appears to have found the catalyst that Bitcoin proponents have been saying was needed to lift the better-known cryptocurrency out of its recent doldrums.
Ether, the native cryptocurrency of the most used blockchain network, rose for a second day Friday, extending its outperformance compared with Bitcoin for a second week. Ether is up about 24% since March 11, while Bitcoin has increased about 16%.
What’s driving the Ether gains is building excitement over an upcoming software upgrade that promises to reduce the blockchain’s carbon footprint and pave the way to improve the network’s scalability and efficiency.
“The Ethereum network’s next major, ambitious milestone will likely catalyze millions of new adopters,” Jamie Douglas Coutts, a senior market structure analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence wrote in a note this week.
The outperformance started two weeks ago as Ethereum passed the last major test before the actual upgrade on March 15. Called the Merge and scheduled for this year, the upgrade will change how transactions on Ethereum are validated, helping the network consume less energy and run more efficiently.
The merge, which is Ethereum’s transition from a proof-of-work to proof-of-stake blockchain, has been highly anticipated and could be the most significant development since the network’s inception in 2015.
“Negative perceptions over energy consumption have plagued proof-of-work chains, so the response from the market to the Merge may be overwhelmingly positive, as energy use is expected to decline 99%,” Coutts said.
The merge will also help slow Ether’s rate of issuance from 4.4% to 0.4% which is lower than Bitcoin’s 1.8%, Coutts noted. That’s likely to help support the price, he said.
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