Leverage is the means of gaining exposure to large amounts of cryptocurrency without having to pay the full value of your trade upfront. Instead, you put down a small deposit, known as margin. When you close a leveraged position, your profit or loss is based on the full size of the trade.
We set the stage for our formal econometric analysis by providing some graphical evidence. For example, in Figure 1, we see a close mapping of the prices of Bitcoin and Ethereum with their respective computing power values. Moreover, in Figure 2, we observe an even stronger mapping of the prices of Bitcoin and Ethereum with their respective network values. Interestingly, these graphs also show that when prices significantly exceed the trend in computing power or network (as was the case in late 2017), prices eventually fall and trace the trend in fundamentals. The convergence of prices to the trend with fundamentals suggests that fundamentals are the ultimate, long-run determinants of prices.

Bitcoin plunged to as low as $8,200 on Binances U.S. exchange from around $65,000.
When Ethereum and Bitcoin crashed, these “discount plays” tanked. Now, as the mainstream plays begin to build momentum, these cryptos are struggling to get off the ground and make space for their own identities.