Ether exceeds $3.000 and exceeds Mastercard’s market cap
Ether (ETH), the second largest cryptocurrency and native to the Ethereum blockchain, surpassed $3,000 for the first time and set a new record this Monday (03). Both the digital currency and its network are heavily used in decentralized finance (DeFi), smart contracts and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Thus, the increase in interest in these tools boosted the cryptocurrency, causing a sequence of 9 straight days of appreciation.
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Ether exceeds market value of Nvidia and Mastercard
According to the CoinDesk index , ether traded at $3,272 this afternoon, its highest value so far. The cryptocurrency has been climbing steadily since April 24, its longest period of uninterrupted bullishness since the cryptocurrency boom in late 2017 and early 2018. As a result, its price quadrupled throughout 2021, surpassing even the rate of appreciation of bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency on the market.
Ether now capitalizes around $380 billion, according to data from CoinMarketCap , second only to bitcoin, whose market cap exceeds $1 trillion. Cryptocurrency has also become more valuable than multinational companies such as Mastercard, Nvidia, Bank of America and Disney.
What is behind this rise?
This rally was mainly driven by increased interest from large institutional investors in ether. What cryptocurrency is going through right now is similar to what bitcoin went through at the beginning of the year. Tesla, for example, bought $1.5 billion worth of BTC in January, while Microstrategy announced another $1 billion purchase in late February.
However, the interest of companies is not only in the profit potential that cryptocurrency can provide as an asset. Unlike bitcoin, ether has many practical features and is one of the most used digital currencies in transactions.
The Ethereum blockchain is the top choice for decentralized finance. Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, are also generally registered on this network, while most sales and auctions are carried out with ether.
Ether gains independence from bitcoin
An investment research and analysis firm, FundStrat, last week predicted that ether would hit $10,000 by the end of the year in the face of the rapid and intense growth of decentralized finance. Thus, the Ethereum blockchain and its native cryptocurrency gain more and more importance both in the financial market and in the implementation of new technologies.
Faced with this favorable scenario, ether has finally achieved its independence. Historically, bitcoin has carried the entire market with it, and during the first quarter of 2021 this dynamic continued to hold true. However, now ether has reversed roles and gained such relevance that its price no longer depends on bitcoin, becoming the main driver of appreciation in the sector.
Ethereum Co-Founder Becomes a Billionaire
After the new ether price record, Ethereum blockchain co-founder Vitalik Buterin became a billionaire. In October 2018, he released his personal address which today holds 333,520 ETH , which is worth approximately $1.1 billion. He has revealed in the past that he also has other secondary digital wallets and that he has no intentions of selling his cryptocurrencies.
With information: cryptosp.trade