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