Ethereum hit an all-time high on Wednesday as the cryptocurrency appreciated more than 60% in a week.
According to a website that traces digital currency prices, CoinDesk, the digital currency had hit an all-time high of $1,417.38 prior to standardizing these gains. Ethereum has risen over 13,000% in the past year.
According to CoinDesk, Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency in the world. This is after Bitcoin by market capitalization, with a value of $131.5 billion.
Digital coins, like Bitcoin, are supported on blockchains. However, the technology is slightly different and targets a specific use case: smart contracts. As large corporations are experimenting with the technology, many see it as a viable cryptocurrency in the real world.
The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance is a consortium that includes companies like Microsoft and JP Morgan. It is dedicated to develop applications using the Ethereum blockchain.
There also seems to be a feeling that investors are looking for alternative digital coins to generate revenue. Ripple recently surged to record highs before plummeting. Some of this money could flow into Ethereum. According to CryptoCompare, as of 8 a.m. London time on Wednesday, over 43% of Ethereum purchases were made using Bitcoin.
Last year, it raised just over $3.7 billion in Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). Here, the companies could raise funds by issuing new digital tokens. Investors do not receive a share in the company. However, users trades these tokens or utilize it in the services provided by the issuing company.
It provides assistance to be able to attract grain traction. The creators creates ICOs based on the Ethereum protocol.
Rise in Ether: What does it mean?
The rise in the price of Ether is evidence of the growing popularity of Ethereum as a platform for decentralized applications. Over the past year and a half, they have seen most tokens issued during ICOs. They also traded on exchanges coded to work on the Ethereum network. Thomas Glucksmann, head of APAC business development that concentrates on cryptocurrency exchange Gatecoin, told CNBC via email.
Several Ethereum developers have spoken openly about cryptocurrencies. One of his co-authors, Stephen Nerayoff, said that the rise of projects based on the Ethereum blockchain could cause a so-called “flippening” in 2018. This causes digital coins to overtake Bitcoin. Flippening refers to investors who invest in alternative cryptocurrencies.
Nerayoff releases a statement on Monday via CNBC. The possibility of Ethereum value doubling or tripling before the end of this year.
However, many have also sounded warnings about the cryptocurrency market.
On another point of view, Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson told CNBC on Tuesday that the possibility of the cryptocurrency collapsing and then consolidating is more likely to happen.
Davis Stockman of Wall Street, former director of Ronald Reagan’s Governance Office, also told CNBC that the crypto boom would end disastrously.
It’s basically the kind of really stupid speculator who convinces himself that trees soar into the sky, he said in an interview earlier this month.
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