Ether, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency rose to US $2,000 (RM8,291) for the first time, as the rally in digital assets continues to broaden beyond Bitcoin.
The digital token for the Ethereum network gained as much as 2.3% to US$2,014 (RM8,349) on Friday. It has surged about 170% this year. The Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index gained gained about 3%, while Bitcoin was little changed after more than doubling this year.
"We’re now really breaking higher and that will very likely attract buying activity, ” said Julius de Kempenaer, senior analyst at StockCharts.com. "Ether is gaining in relative strength versus Bitcoin.”
The token has mirrored the gains in Bitcoin over the past year amid a flood of stimulus aimed at boosting the global economy during the Covid-19 pandemic. Critics warn that crypto is a speculative bubble that will likely burst.
Ether has a market value of about US$230bil (RM953.47bil), compared with about US$1.1tril (RM4.56tril) for Bitcoin, according to data from CoinMarketCap.com. – Bloomberg
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