Latest Ethereum price and analysis (ETH to USD)

Latest Ethereum price and analysis (ETH to USD)

Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) – Mark Machin quit as head of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board after he went to the United Arab Emirates and received a Covid-19 vaccine, defying guidance from Justin Trudeau’s government to avoid international travel.Machin resigned as chief executive officer after discussions with the board on Thursday evening, the C$476 billion ($377 billion) pension fund said in a statement Friday morning. John Graham, the fund’s global head of credit investments, was named to replace him as CEO.Canada’s largest pension fund was thrown into crisis mode Thursday evening when the Wall Street Journal reported Machin’s travel to Dubai. He earned a rebuke from the office of Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, who rarely comments on CPPIB matters in order to protect the fund’s political independence.Although leaving the country isn’t illegal, Trudeau and his ministers have repeatedly warned residents not to do it and imposed strict rules to discourage international trips.It isn’t clear how Machin, a former Goldman Sachs executive who’s in his mid-50s, could have arranged to receive the vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE in Dubai, where officially it’s available only to people over 60, as well as those with chronic diseases or disabilities and front-line workers.Impatient for VaccinesMachin’s resignation spares Trudeau a political headache. CPPIB’s top executive reports to a government-appointed board, but the directors are businesspeople including Nutrien Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Chuck Magro and Royal Bank of Canada Chairwoman Kathleen Taylor, not political figures.Government policy is to avoid interfering in CPPIB’s affairs. But under the circumstances, Freeland may have had little choice but to speak out. Canadians are growing impatient with the pace of the vaccine rollout, which has been the slowest among Group of Seven countries except Japan. There’s not much public tolerance in Canada for officials who are caught jumping the vaccine queue or taking discretionary trips abroad.“It’s not so much that he took a trip to the UAE, it’s that he is perceived to have used his influence as the CEO of one of the largest sovereign pension funds in the world to get a vaccination,” former Finance Minister Joe Oliver said in an interview with BNN Bloomberg Television.“He is supposed to act in a way which reflects Canadian values and respects Canadian laws, and by using his influence to get himself inoculated he crossed a line and I think it’s right that the board acted swiftly,” Oliver said.‘Troubling Situation’In selecting Graham to replace Machin, the board has chosen a low-profile CPPIB veteran who joined the fund in 2008 after a stint at Xerox. He has worked in its total portfolio management and private investment groups before taking charge of a team responsible for credit investments.CPPIB has pushed deeper into private assets – including infrastructure, real estate, private equity and credit – in the belief that they’re a better bet for the long run.”When you look at his CV, you see credit, private markets – that is a significant part of the future as to where that retirement-savings investment process needs to go, in order to be successful and generate net real rates of return that are high enough,” said Keith Ambachtsheer, a pension adviser who has provided strategic advice on governance, finance and investment issues to Canadian pension funds, including CPPIB.Freeland spoke with CPPIB Chairwoman Heather Munroe-Blum Friday morning “and made clear that Canadians place their trust in the CPPIB and expect it to be held to a higher standard,” Katherine Cuplinskas, a spokeswoman for the finance minister, said by email.“While the CPPIB is an independent organization, we are very disappointed by this troubling situation, and we support the swift action taken by the Board of Directors,” Cuplinskas said.The finance department was unaware of Machin’s trip, she said, referring further questions to the CPPIB. Munroe-Blum declined to comment through the fund’s press office.Despite securing more shots per capita than any other nation, Canada has administered just 4.5 doses per 100 people, compared with 29 in the U.K. and 20.6 in the U.S., according to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker. Just 1.3% of the Canadian population has received two doses.That’s because Canada has to import the vaccines, and shipments have lagged. With vaccine deliveries now accelerating after delays caused in part by export controls in the European Union, Trudeau maintains that every Canadian who wants the vaccine will have the chance to get it by the end of September.While many governments kept borders shut for big chunks of last year, Dubai – which relies on international tourism for nearly a third of its gross domestic product – reopened in July.Tourists and celebrities, particularly from the U.K., have flocked to the UAE to escape the lockdown back home, prompting the British government to halt flights from the UAE to prevent the spread of Covid-19 variant originally identified in South Africa.In Canada, fleeing the lockdown can be a career-damaging. Rod Phillips, Ontario’s finance minister, was forced to resign on Dec. 31 after it he caused an outcry by taking a Caribbean vacation at a time when many businesses in the province were ordered to shut their doors to contain the virus. A cabinet minister in Alberta, Tracy Allard, also quit her post after she went to Hawaii.(Adds timing of board discussion in second paragraph, more information on new CEO, investment strategy and other changes)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

Grayscale Buys Ethereum Dip as ETH Drops Below $1,600

Grayscale, the world’s largest digital assets manager, purchased nearly $25 million worth of Ethereum (ETH) in a single day after the price of ETH dropped below $1,600. ETH has dipped nearly 20% in the last 5 days.

According to the latest data published by crypto analytics firm, Bybt.com, Grayscale has accumulated a total of 15,521 ETH in the last 24 hours in an effort to take advantage of the recent crash in ETH. As of writing, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency is trading near $1,600 with a total market cap of $185 billion.

The crypto asset manager now holds 3.17 million ETH with a total value of more than $5.1 billion. Grayscale purchased 238,784 ETH in the last 30 days. The firm reopened its ETH Trust in late January 2021 after a temporary hold on new investments in December 2020.

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Grayscale has accelerated its efforts to accumulate ETH in the last few months. Recently, the company released a report on ETH and highlighted the potential benefits of ETH 2.0. Michael Sonnenshein, CEO of Grayscale mentioned in December 2020 that the institutional interest in ETH-related investment products has grown significantly.

Grayscale’s Crypto Holdings

In addition to ETH, the asset manager has accumulated Bitcoin and other digital assets. The company purchased 137 Bitcoin worth nearly $6.7 million in the last 24 hours. Grayscale has 655,690 BTC under management with a total worth of approximately $33 billion. Grayscale bought 609 Litecoin (LTC) and 268 Bitcoin Cash in a single day. The company now has $254 million worth of Litecoin under management along with $150 million worth of Bitcoin Cash. Grayscale reported a minor outflow of 1,009 ETH Classic during the last 24 hours.

Grayscale’s total digital assets are valued at approximately $38.7 billion. The value of the company’s digital assets has dropped by more than $4 billion in the last 5 days. Despite the recent dip, Grayscale’s crypto assets have grown significantly since the start of 2021 as the company started this year with $20 billion worth of digital assets under management.

Ethereum Price Prediction: Correction Was Inevitable; What Next?

Ethereum price has been under intense pressure lately. After soaring to an all-time high of $2,050 during the weekend, ETH price dropped by 33.5% to $1,352. Today, it is crawling back and is trading at $1,637, which is 25% below the all-time high.

Ether price correction was inevitable

The sharp decline of Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies caught many traders off guard. Analysts attribute this decline to profit-taking and a tweet by Elon Musk who said that BTC and ETH were getting expensive.

Another statement by Janet Yellen also contributed. In a New York Times (NYT) conference, she said that cryptocurrencies were inefficient. Further, the decline happened as investors took profits since the currency was already up by more than 180% this year.

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Still, a closer look at the Ethereum price chart shows that the decline was bound to happen after all.

ETH price technical prediction

The four-hour chart below shows that the ETH price was in a strong upward trend before this week’s crash. However, a closer look shows that it was forming a rising wedge pattern that is shown in green. In technical analysis, this pattern is usually a bearish sign because it shows that bulls’ momentum is fading. A bearish reversal happens when the wedge approaches its tipping point.

Looking ahead, there are two potential scenarios. First, bulls could return as they attempt to buy the dip and retest the all-time high of $2,050. As I have written before, I still believe that the Ethereum price will climb to $2,500 in the medium-term. Second, the price could resume the downward trend. The danger point for this scenario is if the price retests this week’s low of $1,352.

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Ethereum price chart

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