Crypto bounces back after going through the shortest crypto winter

The world’s second-largest crypto, Ethereum, is back above $3,400 — up 40% in the past month, now trading at levels last seen in May when the crypto market crashed.

What’s the big deal? In May, Ethereum’s price crashed 57% — marking the start of a crypto winter.

• Past crypto bear markets lasted for 633, 361 and 260 days — each lasting a shorter duration.
• And the one we just experienced would be the shortest — at just under 100 days.

Despite the growing popularity of the Ethereum blockchain, transaction volume growth on its network stayed relatively flat as it operates near limits.

Bring in Serenity: To improve the network, Ethereum’s developers are working on Ethereum 2.0 (a.k.a. Serenity):

• The upgrades will lead to faster and cheaper transactions on the Ethereum network — making it more scalable.
• The upgrades are a time-consuming process— divided into 3 stages — with the last one expected to complete at the end of 2022/early 2023.

Ethereum’s scaling issues meant explosive growth in alternative crypto platforms: Cardano ($ADA), Polkadot ($DOT) and Qtum ($QTUM) — all racing to replace Ethereum.

The impact: Bitcoin ($BTC) is also up 58% since bottoming at the end of July — along with other crypto-related stocks. In the past month:

• Marathon Digital Holdings (NASDAQ:MARA), a Bitcoin mining company, is up 44%.
• The Global X Blockchain ETF (NASDAQ:BKCH), which invests in crypto and blockchain-related companies — is up 16%.

Unfortunately for US investors, Ethereum and Bitcoin ETFs still haven’t been approved. But there are signs they may be soon.

In Canada, investors have access to several crypto ETFs, including the CI Galaxy Ethereum ETF (TSE:ETHX) and CI Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (TSE:BTCX).