Ethereum Classic (ETC) has been outperforming its arch-rival Ethereum's native token Ether (ETH) during the current crypto market rebound with the ETC/ETH pairs at 10-month highs.
Why is ETC beating ETH?
ETC's price has risen to $27 on July 22, amounting to a 100% gain in nine days after bottoming out at $13.35. Comparatively, ETH's price has seen a 64% rally in U.S. dollar terms.
ETC/USD versus ETH/USD daily price chart. Source: TradingViewEthereum's rebound has been among the sharpest among the top cryptocurrencies, primarily due to the euphoria surrounding its potential network upgrade in September.
Dubbed "the Merge," the long-awaited technical update will switch Ethereum from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS).
Moreover, it will replace miners with stakers. As a result, the PoS switch could force existing Ethereum miners to switch to PoW chains.
Unsurprisingly, Ethereum Classic is the closest to Ethereum in terms of network design and compatibility because Ethereum Classic is the legacy chain split from Ethereum following a contentious hard fork in July 2016.
Speculators are thus anticipating Ethereum Classic to become the first choice for miners migrating from Ethereum, and this is likely one of the main reasons ETC's recent price surge.
ETC price technicals lean short-term bearish
From a technical standpoint, Ethereum Classic has been reeling under the pressure of its 200-day exponential moving average (200-day EMA; the blue wave in the chart below) near $27.35.
ETC/USD daily price chart. Source: TradingViewETC/USD has witnessed a strong bearish rejection near the wave resistance on July 19, confirmed by the largest spike in its daily trading volume in almost a year. In addition, the rejection came after testing the 0.382 Fib line at around $27.47 as resistance.
Related: All ‘Ethereum killers’ will fail: Blockdaemon’s Freddy Zwanzger
ETC now consolidates inside the $22–$25 price range with its interim bias skewed toward the downside due to an "overbought" relative strength index (RSI).
ETC eyes a decline toward its 50-day EMA (the red wave) near $19 if it decisively breaks below $22—over 25% lower than July 22's price.
Conversely, a successful break above $25 and the 200-day EMA could have ETC's price rally over $30.
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