Today, Yearn.finance (YFI) did what many believed was impossible: the altcoin’s price crossed above that of Bitcoin (BTC). Just minutes ago, the price of the Ethereum-based coin crossed above $12,000 for the first time ever, meaning it was trading above BTC’s then-current price of $11,750. YFI now trades at $12,250, but it is clear if these high prices will hold moving forward.
Chart of YFI's price action on Uniswap over the past few weeks (since the start of August) from TradingView.com and Uniswap.vision.
Proponents of the decentralized finance cryptocurrency have taken to Twitter and other social media forums to celebrate this accomplishment.
Many of those celebrating predicted that Yearn.finance would surmount the price of Bitcoin weeks ago, when YFI was trading at a fraction of the current price.
What’s Behind YFI’s Surge to the Upside?
There are a number of trends behind the recent ascent of the Ethereum-based cryptocurrency. It’s important to note that just a month ago, YFI was trading under $1,000 as it had just launched.
Some of the trends likely catalyzing growth in YFI are as follows:
- The total value of Ethereum-based tokens locked in Yearn.finance contracts has spiked. Data shared by DeFi Pulse indicates that there is now $650 million worth of coins locked in the DeFi protocol. This has been catalyzed by the launch of Curve’s governance token, CRV. Analysts use the “total value locked” metric as a way to analyze the value of DeFi coins, YFI included.
- Yearn.finance’s lead developer, Andre Cronje, is releasing many upgrades to the protocol. The most notable of these is yinsure.finance, a planned decentralized insurance platform for DeFi protocols. Analysts see this as a massive opportunity for the Ethereum-based platform to grow, both in terms of the value of tokens locked in it and the value accrued to YFI holders.
Featured Image from Shutterstock Price tags: yfiusd, yfibtc Charts from TradingView.com DeFi Darling Yearn.finance (YFI) Just Passed the Price of Bitcoin at $11,750
