A bombshell ratings report from the widely-respected Weiss Ratings has given a boost ethereum rival EOS, sending it almost 20% higher over the last 48 hours, allowing it to take the fourth largest cryptocurrency spot from litecoin, and lifting the bitcoin and wider cryptocurrency market.
Bitcoin has again begun flirting with the $4,000 per bitcoin price, while EOS has climbed to near year-to-date highs with a market capitalization approaching $4 billion and relegating former flavor of the month, litecoin, to fifth place in the CoinMarketCap rankings of most valuable cryptocurrencies.
The bitcoin price has struggled to find a footing above $4,000 after repeatedly crossing the psychological mark. GETTY
The surprise ratings report, tantalizingly entitled Dark Shadows With A Bright Future, has assigned letter grades to cryptocurrencies that have the best combination of adoption and technology and puts EOS above its long-time rival ethereum with an A and A- grade respectively.
Bitcoin, meanwhile, was also given an A grade, up from a C+ after Weiss recognized improvements to its infrastructure, such as the Lightning Network, as was Ripple’s XRP. Cardano landed an A-, for smart-contract capabilities, monetary policy and governance, while steem, NEO, Zcash, litecoin, and stellar each picked up a B+.
“With cryptocurrencies down sharply in price, many observers seem to assume there’s been an industry-wide decline in usage and practical applications. Nothing could be further from the truth,” the report authors wrote.
“Leading cryptocurrencies now enjoy three times more volume in user (on-chain) transactions than they did in early 2018. The industry’s network capacity and security have improved dramatically. And the underlying technology has evolved with new, more efficient ways to create digital assets.
“This combination of lower prices and improved fundamentals offers new opportunities for investors, provided they can afford the risk, avoid the worst and invest in the best.”
The rating system looked at the cryptocurrencies’ ability to scale, speed of transactions, energy efficiency, network security, public acceptance, sophistication of monetary policy, decision-making capabilities, flexibility to upgrade, and sophistication of smart contracts.
The EOS price was sent 17% higher over the last 48 hour trading period thanks to the Weiss ratings report. COINDESK
The Weiss report also gave many of the world’s biggest cryptocurrencies overall score, most of which were not as good as their combined tech and adoption grades.
EOS, bitcoin, Ripple’s XRP, and binance coin all scored a B-, while litecoin, ethereum, cardano, stellar, Neo, and tron were assigned a C+.
Though the bitcoin price has been trading flat for a number of months now, bold bitcoin bulls have continued to talk up bitcoin and cryptocurrency prospects, with the founder and chief executive of crypto asset manager Galaxy Digital Mike Novogratz saying the next move bitcoin makes will be “higher.”
Novogratz adds his voice to other bitcoin and crypto wealthy, including billionaire Binance chief executive Changpeng Zhao, EOS co-founder and BlockOne CEO Brendan Blumer, and the billionaire Winklevoss twins of Facebook-founding fame, who went on to create the U.S. Gemini crypto exchange, who have said they still have strong faith in bitcoin and crypto despite the downturn—and are betting prices will move higher.
The bitcoin sector is currently trapped in a long-running bear market, with some $400 billion in value wiped from the world’s cryptocurrencies over the past 14 months.
The bitcoin price has repeatedly tried to hold ground above $4,000 per bitcoin but the bears have beaten it back every time. COINDESK
Bitcoin’s epic 2017 bull run was largely put down to expectations institutional investment and big bank support for bitcoin would soon arrive. As 2018 dragged on and that investment failed to appear many investors and traders got cold feet, bailing out of their bitcoin and cryptocurrency positions.
Many bitcoin investors and traders are however looking toward things like the highly-anticipated Bakkt bitcoin platform and a U.S. bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) to boost the price, though those expectations have been somewhat dampened lately as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission frets over potential price manipulation.
Author: Billy Bambrough
