coindesk.com
Even with ether (ETH) close to yearly highs, profitable addresses have grown by a hefty 132% since last July.
- In the last week, ether has established a foothold above $300 for the first time in 12 months.
- While the second-largest cryptocurrency is trading with only a relatively small price increase year-on-year, the number of profit-making or “in-the-money” ether addresses has more than doubled to 31.37 million from 13.5 million over that time, according to blockchain analytics firm IntoTheBlock.
- The numbers indicate many took advantage of the opportunity to buy ether under $300, resulting in almost 18 million more in-profit addresses – a rise of 132%.
- The majority of the buying may have happened following the cryptocurrency’s dips to levels near $100 in December 2019 and March 2020.
- An address is said to be in-the-money if the current price of the token is higher than the average cost at which the coins were acquired or sent to the address.
- It's worth noting that individuals and entities can own more than one address, so the 18 million figure does not represent investor numbers.
- While in-the-money addresses have more than doubled year-on-year, the total number of addresses showing a balance has also risen by 55%, up 15.5 million from 28.11 million last July.
- With the two metrics showing such different levels of growth, IntoTheBlock suggested that some holders – addresses with a balance a year ago – opted to bring their average cost down by buying dips below $300.
- Ethereum’s network has recently witnessed some of its busiest days since the beginning of 2020 due to increased issuance of stablecoins and solid growth in Defi projects on the network.
Read: DeFi Hype Has Sent Ethereum Fees Soaring to 2-Year High: Coin Metrics