Ether rises to record high as use of Ethereum blockchain surges
BNN Bloomberg
Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, soared to a record above US$4,400 Friday on bullish sentiment surrounding an upgrade to the Ethereum network and rival Bitcoin’s recent rally to a high of its own.
Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, soared to a record above US$4,400 Friday on bullish sentiment surrounding an upgrade to the Ethereum network and rival Bitcoin’s recent rally to a high of its own.
The digital asset gained as much as 3.5 per cent to US$4,403.93, topping the previous record of US$4,379.62 in May. The token was around US$4,350 at 10:26 a.m. in London trading. Other tokens including Binance Coin and Solana rallied. Ether is now worth more than US$510 billion, according to data from CoinGecko.com.
Ether’s latest milestone comes as the digital token has far outperformed Bitcoin throughout this year with a sixfold increase amid surging retail and institutional investor interest in the space.
Ether underpins the affiliated Ethereum Network, the dominant blockchain used for thousands of decentralized applications. The system got a further boost this week after a successful upgrade designed to make it faster and more energy-efficient.
Outstanding futures in Ether soared to US$12.5 billion, exceeding the May peak to notch a new record high, Bybt data show. Similar to Bitcoin, funding rates -- or the cost of keeping a bullish bet open -- have climbed this month on online exchanges. On CME, the futures curve has also steepened in a sign of optimism over the price trajectory.
