ETC rallies by nearly 20%, outperforming the broader market

The cryptocurrency market has continued its positive performance this week as BTC and others rally higher.

The cryptocurrency market has performed well over the past few hours. The total cryptocurrency market cap remains above the $1 trillion mark as the broader market added more than 2% to its value in the last 24 hours.

Bitcoin maintains its price above the $22k resistance level and is up by more than 10% in the last seven days. Ether finally crossed the $1,500 psychological level after adding more than 5% to its value in the last 24 hours.

However, ETC, the native token of the Ethereum Classic blockchain, is the best performer amongst the top 50 cryptocurrencies by market cap. ETC is up by more than 19% in the last 24 hours, outperforming the broader cryptocurrency market in the process.

The rally is probably fueled by the upcoming Ethereum Merge. The merge event will see Ethereum completely migrate to a proof of stake protocol. The Ethereum developers could implement the Merge within September.

If that happens, miners on the Ethereum network could migrate to Ethereum Classic as ETC still uses a proof of work protocol. 

Key levels to watch

The ETC/USD 4-hour chart is bullish as Ethereum Classic has been performing excellently over the past few days. 

The MACD line crossed into the positive zone over the weekend and has maintained its place there, indicating bullish momentum.

The 14-day relative strength index of 88 shows that ETC is currently in the overbought region.

At press time, ETC is trading at $25. An extended rally over the next 24 hours could see ETC break past the $30 resistance level. However, it would need the support of the broader cryptocurrency market to reach $35 for the first time since April 2022. 

If the bears take control of the market, ETC could lose its support level at $21 over the next few hours. However, ETC should comfortably defend its position above the $17 support level in the short term.