Ethereum (ETH) rose to 3% in the Bitstamp exchange, breaking the $3,000 mark for the first time last May 3. This puts Ethereum (ETH) at a 300% increase within the year so far, surpassing Bitcoin’s 95% rise.
In a press release with news agency Reuters last May 3, Managing Director of Hong Kong-based crypto platform Q9 capital James Quinn stated that ETH’s price climb is a ‘catch-up to the late 2020 gains in Bitcoin (BTC)’.
The cross rate between ETH and BTC has increased by more than 100% this year, reaching its highest in the last 2.5 years on May 2. Moreover, Quinn added that there is now a changing movement towards the second-largest cryptocurrency, ETH, due to more investors gaining exposure on digital assets and DeFi.
‘At first, the rally was really led by Bitcoin because as a lot of the institutional investors came into the space, that would be their natural first port of call. But as the rally has matured over the last six months, you have DeFi and a lot of DeFi is built on Ethereum,’ Quinn added.
Managing Partner at Hong Kong blockchain firm Kenetic Capital Jehan Chu also stated that the surge in DeFi volume will continue to push Ethereum’s price higher, leading to more investors to gain confidence in cryptocurrency and see Ethereum as a safe second-place asset.
Additionally, news site Bloomberg reported that the European Investment Bank plans to issue a digital bond over the Ethereum blockchain. Moreover, the Canadian government approved the launch of three Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) last April 20, namely Purpose Ether ETF, CI Galaxy Ethereum ETF and Evolve Ether ETF.
Global business publication Financial Times also reported last April 30 that the Venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz plans to invest $1 billion in crypto start-ups and leading cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
With Ethereum reaching its highest record yet, Russian-Canadian programmer and creator of ETH Vitalik Buterin has become the world’s youngest crypto billionaire, according to NFT collector Justin Trimble’s post on Twitter.
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