Crypto Weekly: Vitalik Buterin vs Michael Saylor – BTC-ETH debates gather pace

Aug 01, 2022
10:08
2 min reading

Choise.com team

Bitcoin vs Ethereum has been an ongoing debate for years together. Amid the recent ETH price rally over the last two weeks, crypto fans have sparked the debate once again that Ethereum is all set to overtake Bitcoin. A large part of their hopes remains pinned to The Merge upgrade by September 2022. Besides, last week, Ethereum co-founderVitalik Buterin saidthat The Merge hasn’t been priced in.

Although the buzz around Ethereum flippening Bitcoin remains strong, ETH is still less than half the valuation of BTC at this point. In a note to clients, Quantum Economics Founder and CEOMati Greenspan said: “I keep hearing people repeating the question, ‘wen flippening?’ Even though there’s no guarantee this will ever happen, just looking at the numbers, it does seem like this event is getting closer by the day.”

With the ability to host smart contracts, DeFi, DApps, NFTs, and much more, crypto enthusiasts often see the Ethereum network as a better version of the Bitcoin blockchain.

Now, the long-awaited software upgrade will move Ethereum to a proof-of-stake (PoS) network. Thus, Ethereum 2.0 will significantly improve network scalability and speed.

Growing Institutional Interest In Ethereum (ETH)

In addition to Bitcoin, there’s been a growing institutional interest in Ethereum over the last year. Crypto trading platform QCP recently said that they have traded an incredible amount of ETH options over the last few days. Interestingly, hedge funds have been the largest buyers. “We expect this demand to continue as we approach the merge in September,” said QCP. Bodhi Pinkner, an analyst at crypto asset manager Arca told Bloomberg: The flippening “is very possible”. “We have a favorable view of Ethereum. So that changing dynamic bodes theoretically well for Ethereum’s price relative to Bitcoin, especially in an environment of tightening.”

Vitalik Buterin vs Michael Saylor

On Sunday, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin lashed out at Bitcoin maximalist Michael Saylor. Last week, Saylor in an interview said that Ethereum is a “security”. Responding to it Buterin said: “Why do maximalists keep picking heroes that turn out to be total clowns?”

In the interview in question, Saylor, aside from implying that all other cryptocurrencies are securities, also stated, “all the legitimate talent is working in the Bitcoin ecosystem.” The MicroStrategy chief added, “if you’re honest, ethical, and competent, you would be building on the Lightning Network.”

It is worth noting that Buterin was not the only one who disliked Saylor’s comments. John Deaton, the legal representative for XRP holders in the ongoing legal battle between the US SEC and Ripple, also expressed some misgivings over Saylor’s comments. According to Deaton, Saylor’s definition of security is fundamentally flawed and his ethical arguments absurd.

“Saylor’s analysis of what constitutes a security is deeply flawed – which is quite surprising, considering how intelligent he is,” Deaton tweeted on Sunday. “More troubling are his comments that if you’re ethical, you would build only on Bitcoin and Lightning. The ethical comments are absurd, and Saylor needs to be better than that.”

Saylor’s analysis of what constitutes a security is deeply flawed – which is quite surprising, considering how intelligent he is. — John E Deaton

Tensions between Bitcoin maximalists and the altcoin community

In recent weeks, tensions between Bitcoin maximalists and the altcoin community have become more heated. As previously reported by The Crypto Basic, Cardano creator Charles Hoskinson had referred to Bitcoin maximalists like Michael Saylor as intellectually dishonest, following Saylor’s classification of ADA as security.

Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy remains the largest known corporate holder of Bitcoin, with about 129,699 BTC in its cache.

Bitcoin Signals Breakdown

Bitcoin price gained pace above the$23,500 resistance zone. There was a clear move above the $24,000 level and the price even broke the $24,500 level.

It attempted a clear move towards the $25,000 resistance but failed. A high was formed near $24,670 and the price started a fresh decline. There was a move below the $24,200 and $24,000 support levels to move into a short-term bearish zone.

Bitcoin declined below the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $20,696 swing low to $24,670 high. Besides, there was a break below a key bullish trend line with support near $23,750 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair.

The price is now trading below the $24,000 level and the100 hourly simple moving average. The bulls are now protecting more losses below the $23,250 level.

On the upside, the price is facing resistance near the $23,750 level and the 100 hourly simple moving average. The next key resistance is near the $24,200 zone. It also seems like there is a double top pattern forming with resistance near the $24,200 level.

Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Technical indicators

Hourly MACD – The MACD is now losing pace in the bearish zone

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BTC/USD is now below the 50 level

Major Support Levels – $23,240, followed by $22,800

Major Resistance Levels – $23,750, $24,000 and $24,200

Ethereum Price Holds Key Support

Ethereum remained in apositive zoneabove the $1,600 level. ETH even extended its increase above the $1,670 and $1,700 levels.

It climbed above the $1,750 but there was no move to $1,800. A high was formed near $1,784 and the price started a downside correction. There was a minor move below the $1,730 and $1,720 levels. Ether declined below the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $1,355 swing low to $1,784 high.

Besides, there was a break below a key bullish trend line with support near $1,710 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD. The price is now trading above $1,650 and the 100 hourly simple moving average.

It is also consolidating above the100 hourly simple moving average. An immediate resistance on the upside is near the $1,720 level. The first major resistance is near the $1,750 zone.

Source: ETHUSD on TradingView.com

Technical Indicators

Hourly MACD–The MACD for ETH/USD is now losing momentum in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI–The RSI for ETH/USD is now below the 50 level.

Major Support Level – $1,670

Major Resistance Level – $1,750

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