The Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) price is down more than 8% over the past 24 hours, currently trading for US$2,885 (AU$4,024).
The overnight loss is enough to send the Ethereum price down by more than 6% since this time last week.
While the majority of cryptos in the top 100 list (by market cap) are in the red over the past seven days amid the current hefty sell-off, a few have managed to hold on to some outsized gains.
Rally crypto surges 25% this week
Despite plunging 17% in the past 24 hours, Rally (CRYPTO: RLY) remains up 25% for the full week.
While we weren't able to find any direct reason for Rally's, erm, rally this week, Twitter posts suggest that some deep-pocketed crypto investors have been buying the token over the past few days. Though those same investors may well be the ones hitting the sell button today, driving down the Rally price, the Ethereum price, and most of the top cryptos.
So what exactly is Rally?
According to CoinMarketCap:
Rally is a social token-oriented protocol that allows creators to launch their own token and build a digital economy around their work. In this way, creators … can tap into their communities and offer benefits and perks to recruit, retain and monetize their following in a frictionless manner. Each creator on Rally receives a fully customizable, branded cryptocurrency they can use however they deem fit.
With a total market valuation of US$744 million, Rally counts as the 96th biggest crypto in virtual circulation.
Why is the Ethereum price tumbling?
While Rally's outsized gains of the past few days leave it up for the week, it hasn't been immune to the same forces pulling down the Ethereum price.
As with the tumbling Bitcoin price, today's sell-off is predominantly driven by investor jitters over a possible Russian incursion into Ukraine. While Russian officials deny any intent to invade, the United States is warning that Russian forces could attack at any moment.
That geopolitical uncertainty has sent most risk assets – like high growth tech shares and cryptocurrencies – deep into the red.
While the fortunes of even the biggest cryptos, like Ethereum, have joined the risk-off sentiment, investors seeking haven assets are driving up the price of gold. That's seeing ASX gold shares post outsized gains today, even as the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) remains down 0.6%.
