The price of Ethereum’s ether has hit a new all-time high above $1,430, partly thanks to the recent volatility seen in bitcoin’s price, which moved from $11,000 to a new high near $42,000, before plunging to $30,500 and recovering to $37,000.
The flagship cryptocurrency’s growing volatility, which according to CryptoCompare’s Bitcoin Volatility Index (BVIN) is up 51% year-to-date is believed to have driven investors to alternative cryptocurrencies, which helped the largest altcoin, ether, hit a new high.
According to Bloomberg, cryptocurrency enthusiasts have been encouraged by the comparative calm seen in BTC’s price recently, which over the last few days has been trading around the $36,000 mark, to chase momentum.
Vijay Ayyar, head of business development at crypto exchange Luno, was quoted as saying:
After rising more than 760% in a year, #Ethereum’s ether is now trading at a new all-time high of $1,433.24.
Behind $ETH’s rally are believed to be several factors, including progress on Ethereum 2.0 and the growth of the #DeFi sector. pic.twitter.com/LykdEu4E0b
— CryptoCompare (@CryptoCompare) January 19, 2021
The decentralized finance (DeFi) space has also been seeing its total value locked surpass the $25 billion mark, with protocols like Maker, Aave, Compound, Uniswap, Curve Finance, and SushiSwap having well over $2 billion locked in them.
On top of that, ether locked in the Ethereum 2.0 staking contract has effectively been removed from circulation until the network’s proof-of-stake upgrade launches. Over $3 billion worth of the cryptocurrency are now locked in it earning their holders interest.
Alex Krüger, a popular economist and trader, has revealed that the next levels to watch for Ethereum. These include the $1,500, $1,600, $1,920, and the $2,000 marks. The levels, he said, are Fibonacci extension, option strike prices, and round numbers.
Featured image via Unsplash.
