Published , by Captain Business
Published , by Captain Business
The cryptocurrency market is so hot right now, and one of the hottest coins on Earth is Ethereum. Ether is at the heart of the ongoing NFT movement, and its unit of currency just hit an all-time high of $3,330 earlier today.
Ether tokens have quadrupled in value during 2021, driven by renewed interest in decentralized finance (DeFi), and overall speculation brought on by the easy monetary policy of the Federal Reserve. Ethereum investors have outpaced Bitcoin's performance year-to-date, but remain behind Dogecoin's massive gains in 2021. "Surging DeFi volumes continue to push ethereum prices higher as investors gain confidence in crypto and see ethereum as a safe second-place asset," said Jehan Chu, managing partner at Hong Kong blockchain venture capital firm Kenetic Capital.
Institutional investors are taking blockchain technology more seriously than ever, with the European Investment Bank announcing plans to launch a "digital bond" sale on the ethereum blockchain network. The two-year 100 million Euro bond issuance will reportedly be lead by Goldman Sachs, Societe General, and Banco Santander.
Ether's price (ETH) has also been buoyed by the massive surge in NFT (non-fungible tokens) transactions in 2021. Investors are using ether tokens to buy virual assets on platforms like SuperRare and Decentraland. "The amount of ethereum sitting on exchanges continues to drop lower and has been the lowest in the past year," said SFOX Head of Revenue Danny Kim. "With less supply on exchange available, there's less likely a chance of a major sell-off."
Retail investors, institutions, governments, and sovereign funds are all active in cryptocurrency markets, and the trend seems to be the friend of HODLers. With the Federal Reserve indicating that their monetary policy will remain accomodative throughout 2021, it appears that there will be more room to run for most asset prices. Blockchain cryptocurrency tech is still on the cutting edge of finance and asset management, and it appears to be here to stay.
With a market capitalization rapidly approaching $400 billion, Ethereum has cemented itself as the second banana to Bitcoin in the crypto market. Are you investing in Ether? What are you doing with your money hats? Let us know in the comments section below.