Ethereum Classic's [ETC] consolidation extends- A bullish breakout likely

Ethereum Classic ETC has been in a consolidation phase since mid-March. Price action hit a homestretch on its symmetrical triangle pattern at press time, pointing to a potential breakout.

Timeline of Ethereum-classic

The Crypto space has been slowly garnering the attention of industrial investors. In order to attract newbies, unique crypto projects have been brewing in the market. Ethereum Classic (ETC) is one such project that thrives to enable developers to build and deploy smart contracts.

At 106.59TH/s, Ethereum Classic's [ETC] hashrate has hit its lowest point so far this year, data from 2miners.com revealed. Moreover, the chain's network difficulty at 1.45P also declined to its lowest value since the year began.

Ethereum Classic (ETC) just concluded a bullish week but its price action is not the only aspect that achieved a pivot. Its total value locked also registered some upside after previously experiencing outflows.

Ethereum classic rose by as much as 12% in today's session, as cryptocurrency markets rallied to start the weekend. The global market cap is trading over 3% higher at the time of writing, as investors continue to buy crypto following the recent banking crisis. Solana was also higher in today's session.

Ethereum Classic (CRYPTO: ETC) is trading higher by some 9.49% to $19.56 over the past 24 hours. Shares of several popular altcoins are trading higher amid broader strength in cryptocurrencies.

Litecoin (CRYPTO: LTC) and Ethereum Classic (CRYPTO: ETC) are both facing selling pressure and trading lower Thursday afternoon. The broader cryptocurrency market is experiencing marked weakness as Silvergate Capital Corp's planned liquidation has weighed on banks with crypto exposure.

Ethereum Classic saw its hashrate balloon when Ethereum finally moved to a proof of stake mechanism. The miners who were being kicked out of the network and could no longer use their machines had switched to others such as Ethereum Classic and Ravencoin to put their very specific machines to use.

Ethereum classic rallied for a second straight session on Wednesday, following better-than-expected U.S. consumer confidence data. The figures showed that confidence among American consumers rose to the highest level in eight months, with a reading of 108.3. Monero was also higher on the news, as it extended recent gains.

Bitcoin stayed afloat above the $16.6k mark after sinking to $16.2k on Monday (19 December). The sentiment across the market has been bearish in recent days, and it was likely to continue over the week.

Ethereum Classic [ETC] attempted a rally but faced massive opposition from the bears. After flipping the critical support around the $18 mark into resistance, ETC broke additional supports as bears took control of the market.