Ethereum, the world’s second-largest digital coin, is up 4% to an all-time high above $4,700 as the rally in cryptocurrencies rolls on.
Bitcoin climbed 7% to $66,250, inching toward a record high above $66,900 set in late October. Cryptocurrencies are known for their volatile price swings, with moves of 20% higher or lower relatively common.
Ethereum’s all-time high comes amid growing excitement about decentralized finance (DeFi), a new trend in the cryptocurrency market that seeks to build financial applications such as lending and trading on the blockchain.
Ethereum is a key player in DeFi. Some of the biggest DeFi services, including decentralized exchange Uniswap and lending platform Aave, run on the Ethereum network.
Ethereum is also the backbone for many non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. NFTs are like digital receipts that keep a record of ownership for rare items such as online art.
NFTs have seen a boom in activity this year, with one token auctioned at Christie’s selling for a record $69 million.
Ethereum is also undergoing a major upgrade which investors hope will make the network faster and more environmentally friendly. The latest step in Ethereum’s overhaul occurred late last month, when an upgrade called Altair went live.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin jumped to a new all-time high of nearly $67,000 last month, following the listing of the first U.S. bitcoin futures exchange traded fund (ETF). Cryptocurrency bulls praised the move as another sign of growing acceptance for digital assets on Wall Street.
