While you’ve been watching the concentration of Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies have a moment.
Ether, the digital witness of the Ethereum blockchain, surpassed the $ 1,000 mark on Monday to reach its highest level since Feb. 2, 2018. Ether last traded at $ 1,038, up 30% more in the last 24 hours, according to cryptographic news data. CoinDesk site.
It comes after Bitcoin hit a new all-time high, briefly surpassing the $ 34,000 mark. The world’s largest cryptocurrency by market value rose to $ 34,452 earlier Sunday before falling to about $ 31,780 on Monday.
Even XRP, the virtual currency tied to the controversial blockchain launch Ripple, was up on Monday. The XRP rose about 7% in the last 24 hours, trading at around 23 cents.
It is still worth less than half of what it was about two weeks ago, when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint against Ripple alleging that the company had made an unregistered offer of securities with XRP.
Meanwhile, litecoin traded up 10% more on Monday, to about $ 155. Litecoin was created by cryptocurrency entrepreneur Charles Lee with the intention of processing transactions faster than Bitcoin’s underlying blockchain network.
Alternatives to bitcoin, sometimes referred to as “altcoins” in the cryptocurrency industry, often come together in times of strength for bitcoin. Lots of money earned after Bitcoin approached $ 20,000 in 2017, amid rising interest from retail investors in the space.
“The super exponential pace of gains is impressive, but it carries the risk of very strong corrections when they finally arrive,” John Hardy, head of Saxo Bank’s foreign exchange strategy, said on Monday.
Ether was within reach of an all-time high above the $ 1,400 it reached in mid-January 2018. The cryptocurrency network recently began a major upgrade called Ethereum 2.0, which is expected to be faster and safe.
Bullish investors in cryptography believe that Ethereum could become the model for a next-generation decentralized internet, as it supports applications on its network. A major issue in 2020 was the rise of decentralized finance, or DeFi, which aims to replicate traditional financial products, such as loans without intermediaries such as banks.
Bitcoin experienced a historic concentration last year when it advanced more than 300%. The virtual currency began its life in 2009 and has come a long way since its anti-establishment roots in the wake of the financial crisis, seeing the adoption of major firms such as PayPal and Fidelity and increased interest from institutional investors.