Long Beach (CooinChapter): Ethereum, the second-largest crypto by market cap, has set a new all-time high. The price reached $2,087 breaking its previous high of $2,041. Though it has pulled back some, the price remains trading above the $2,000 mark.
This price surge has been building throughout the week and there are potentially multiple different factors that contributed to it. One of those could be a handful of high-profile investors endorsing the blockchain including Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.
In a recent podcast interview Cuban said, “Smart contracts came along, and that created DeFi and NFTs. That’s what changed the game, that’s what got me excited. That’s why it’s a lot like the internet.” Additionally, Cuban noted that he believes Ethereum is the closest thing to true currency.
Ethereum has enjoyed a big year so far. It has played a major role in the rise of NFTs. Non-fungible tokens are exploding around the world and most of them are minted on the Ethereum blockchain. Therefore, most of the transactions in the NFT market are being done in ETH.
Likewise it is also the blockchain that powers most DeFi applications. This includes popular decentralized exchange Uniswap, which handles billions of dollars in volume on a daily basis.
The second largest crypto has also seen some interest from traditional payment processors as well. Visa recently announced it would be settling transactions for USD Coin using Ethereum.
Immense anticipation for Ethereum upgrade
That’s not to mention the immense anticipation for upgrades within the Ethereum network, particular Ethereum 2.0. This major upgrade will scale the Ethereum network and fully transition its blockchain over to a proof-of-stake algorithm.
Since Ethereum dropped down to around $1,546 ETH has posted four consecutive green daily candles and today would be the fifth it it closes green. Overall the crypto has gained 6% over the last 24 hours and 183% since the beginning of 2021.
