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According to Michael Safai, managing partner at financial services firm Dexterity Capital, Bitcoin (BTC), which holds the top spot in terms of market capitalization, is unwavering and unremarkable in its consistency. However, this unexciting quality is actually a positive attribute.
“Bitcoin’s going to be the boring old grandpa right now in the room,” Safai told CoinDesk TV’s “First Mover” on Friday referring to why, during these uncertain economic times, bitcoin’s rally may be due to its simple, more familiar story.
He pointed out that there is currently a great deal of enthusiasm surrounding Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization, within the crypto market.
On Wednesday, Ethereum went through its Shanghai upgrade, also referred to as Shapella. The upgrade of the blockchain led to speculation about potential significant sell-offs. However, two days following the eagerly awaited upgrade, ETH's price gradually rose above $2,000 and surpassed bitcoin in options trading, marking the first time this year.
Although the upgrade enables users to withdraw their staked ETH and reduces fees while creating room on the blockchain for additional transactions, Michael Safai notes that "a lot of things" are transpiring with ether. Specifically, US government officials have claimed that ether is a security and should be regulated accordingly.
Bitcoin, on the other hand, is sidestepping the “chaos of all the investigations,” he said. Currently, it seems that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is content with categorizing bitcoin as a commodity, in contrast to their perspective on ether.
With Ethereum’s upgrade, the “rules of the game have just changed,” Safai said. The markets may also be experiencing excitement from users, which could be another contributing factor.
“We’re seeing more activity on the options side and I expect that to continue,” he said.
Source Coindesk