Will Bitcoin be overtaken by Ether in the long run?

• Bitcoin (BTC) topped US$50,000 for the first time since May
• Ether (ETH) soars 2.9% to cross US$3,300 as bullish sentiment lingers
• PayPal has launched crypto buying and selling in the UK
• Some analysts predict Ethereum may beat Bitcoin’s market cap
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Will Bitcoin price maintain its run-up?

On Monday in Asia, Bitcoin jumped above the closely watched US$50,000 level for the first time in three months.

As of 20:35 SGT, it was trading at US$50,329.50, up 2.7% from the previous day.

Investors were piling back into the world’s largest virtual coin amid bargain-buying, AFP noted. This also came as the cryptocurrency market continued to recover from a disorderly rout in May, Bloomberg reported.

BTC had hit US$50,249.15 on Monday morning in Singapore. That is its highest since mid-May, when the price had started to decline as China’s crackdown on cryptocurrencies and Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s decision to stop accepting Bitcoin had soured the mood.

However, since then, Tesla and other high-profile investors including Twitter founder Jack Dorsey have indicated their support for or interest in Bitcoin.

Bitcoin’s rebound since its six-month lows in June has revived speculation that it could approach US$100,000 in the long run, AFP reported.

Other observers predicted the asset could hover within a wider trading range. Bensignor Investment Strategies’ CEO Rick Bensignor on Monday wrote BTC was ‘getting nearer the higher end of what I expect as a new trading range in the low-US$40,000s to low US$50,000s’.

A Coindesk report highlighted ‘some signs of short-term fatigue’ amid the price rebound, anticipating Bitcoin may post ‘a small retracement down to lower prices’ before the bullish trend continues.

Ethereum price on uptrend

Ether, the coin linked to the ethereum blockchain network, likewise advanced on Monday.

ETH was last trading 2.9% higher at US$3,342.57 as of 20:35 SGT.

Tradable Patterns’ research team on Sunday wrote that ETH ‘has taken a bit of a backseat’ to other cryptocurrencies since early August, likely due to a rotation into other leading altcoins.

Analytics firm CryptoQuant’s CEO Ki Young Ju predicted that Ether’s intensifying ‘sell-side liquidity crisis’ may drive it to fresh highs and help it surpass BTC.

Bloomberg Intelligence likewise said it foresees Ethereum potentially overtaking Bitcoin by market cap to grab the top spot in the crypto scene, ‘even if it takes years rather than months at current trajectories’.

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PayPal allows crypto purchases in Britain

Also boosting sentiment was PayPal Holdings’ announcement that starting this week, its UK-based customers will be able to buy, sell and hold Bitcoin, Ether and other cryptocurrencies.

This is the California-based group’s first expansion of its crypto services outside of the US, and could prompt further mainstream adoption of the new asset class, Reuters said.

Earlier this year, PayPal had allowed crypto buying and selling in the US, before letting shoppers use their digital coins to pay for orders from millions of merchants.