The world’s second-biggest cryptocurrency has been growing steadily this year. But after the impressive growth seen by Bitcoin, where it crossed the $60k mark, it seems that the focus is now shifted to ETH. The cryptocurrency hit $3,031.43 on Monday (at the time of writing the news), continuing the rally it has been seeing since past week.
The milestone first happened on Korea’s Bitstamp exchange as it rose 2%. In 2021 itself, Ethereum is up by more than 300%. Contrast that to BTC, which has risen 95% this year. Ethereum now has a market cap of $351 billion.
While there are many critics against Ethereum, it’s also hailed as a versatile cryptocurrency with its capabilities of being the world’s biggest supercomputer. Hence, it’s not a surprise to see its growth, considering this year, we’re seeing the NFT market booming. While NFTs use several purpose-built, new blockchains like Flow, most of them utilize the Ethereum blockchain. Of course, the rise of DeFi has also contributed to the rise of ETH’s price.
Another reason for the growth is the Eth2, a solution that will see Ethereum moving away from a proof-of-work mechanism to energy-efficient proof-of-stake consensus. On April 15th, the network also underwent Berlin Hardfork which introduced 4 EIPs (Ethereum Improvement Protocols). These include limiting gas prices, new transaction types, and more.
Recently, Bloomberg reported that EIB is planning to introduce a two-year 100-million Euro digital bond. The sale will be led by Goldman Sachs, Banco Santander, and Societe Generale. Many attribute ETH’s rally to the same.
Market speculators believe that Ethereum will continue to increase. While it may see a major resistance near $3,350, it’s expected to reach $4,000 to $4,200 by summer — a 200% jump from its price in 2018.