NBA star Scottie Pippen triggers debate

Seven-time NBA All-Star Scottie Pippen sparked a debate on social media on Saturday by asking his more than 658,000 followers to choose between Ethereum and Solana.

ETHEREUM or Solana?

— Scottie Pippen (@ScottiePippen) July 20, 2024

The question inspired more than 4,000 responses as of Sunday afternoon, with many commenters saying Pippen should have chosen neither Ethereum (ETH) nor Solana (SOL), and instead recommended Bitcoin (BTC) and Cardano (ADA).

This renewed interest comes after Pippen previously released his NFT collection, the Scottie Pippen SP33 NFT, which currently has a base price of $42.13. The collection consists of 1,000 minted NFTs held by 491 unique owners, with a total market value of $42,130.

Pippen’s renewed enthusiasm for cryptocurrency comes amid significant growth and adoption in the industry. As blockchain technology gains traction among individuals and businesses, more celebrities and athletes like Pippen are likely to get involved.

It is not yet clear which blockchain platform Pippen will ultimately support, but his involvement is expected to further fuel interest and excitement in the crypto community in the months and years to come.

Solana: Bullish trends

Solana is up 20.8% in the last seven days and 3.6% on a daily basis.

According to technical analysis, Solana is currently forming an ascending triangle pattern, which often signals a possible breakout. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) shows that the asset is neither overbought nor oversold, indicating balanced market sentiment.

Resistance is currently at $193.92 while support is around $141.68. By the end of 2024, SOL could trade between $250 and $300, indicating strong market recovery and resilience.

SOL is currently cementing its place among the leading cryptocurrencies by closely following Bitcoin’s movements.

Known for its high throughput and low transaction fees, Solana uses a unique Proof of History (PoH) consensus mechanism that allows it to process up to 65,000 transactions per second.

Solana is currently priced at around $176 and has a market cap of $81 billion. The price recently bounced back to its 200-day moving average, suggesting the potential for a long-term uptrend.

Ethereum ETF speculation drives price gains

Ethereum has also experienced price gains in recent weeks, driven by ongoing discussions regarding the approval of an Ethereum ETF in the United States.

As of the latest update, Ethereum is priced at $3,496.61. Since the beginning of 2024, Ethereum has increased by more than 42%, with an increase of more than 5% in July alone. Over the past 14 days, the price has increased by more than 17%.

The ongoing discussions regarding Ethereum ETFs, with companies such as VanEck, Valkyrie, and Grayscale filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), have contributed significantly to this upward trend.

Although it is not yet an approved ETF, the prospect of institutional investment through these funds has increased investor confidence and pushed the price up.

Despite these recent gains, Ethereum’s price remains below its all-time high of $4,878.26 from November 2021. However, ongoing developments in the Ethereum ecosystem and the potential for ETF approval are keeping investors optimistic about the token’s long-term prospects.