Ethereum hits record high, BTC rises

Ethereum and Bitcoin Coins.

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Bitcoin’s price soared on Monday after a brutal sell-off with the virtual currency briefly falling below $ 30,000. Meanwhile, ether – the world’s second largest cryptocurrency – hit a new record high.

Bitcoin was up more than 7.4% in the past 24 hours and traded around $ 34,807, according to data from CoinDesk, looking to recover from last week’s steep losses that wiped more than $ 100 billion from the entire crypto market.

Ether, the Ethereum blockchain’s digital token, set a new high of $ 1,476 early Monday morning. The cryptocurrency climbed 6.2% to a price of $ 1,415 at around 9:15 a.m.ET.

Altcoins, or alternative cryptocurrencies, are known to recover in times of strength for bitcoin. Ether’s latest price move has been attributed to increased use of Ethereum – the underlying network undergoing a major upgrade – and institutional investors’ interest in crypto.

“The current rise in Ethereum keeps cold from skeptics, many of whom were quick to denounce crypto as bitcoin recently dropped from its $ 40,000,” said Simon Peters, cryptoasset analyst at online investment platform eToro.

“With a slew of logistical enhancements to the Ethereum network in the works, increased institutional inflow, and more and more developers building on the platform, the future looks bright for Ethereum. of the year is very possible. As with all cryptocurrencies, there will be bumps along the way. ”

Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market value, has had a wild start in 2021. After quadrupling last year, the price of bitcoin briefly topped $ 40,000 for the first time on January 7. It is down 17% from its all-time high, up more than 17% since the start of the year.

Proponents of the digital currency say it has benefited from increased institutional demand and its perception as a safe haven similar to gold. But skeptics fear bitcoin is in a bubble.

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