Ethereum blockchain network’s native cryptocurrency, Ether (ETH), has broken its previous all-time price high, according to Coindesk.
According to historical data on some major exchanges platforms, prices surged on Tuesday, crossing Bitstamp’s record of $1,420, to reach $1,439.33.
The previous record was set two years ago on Jan. 13, 2018.
Earlier this month, Ether gave scanty hints about a possible surge, but the altcoin fell victim to a brief market correction that was triggered by Bitcoin‘s fall from $40,000 to $30,000 last week.
The cryptocurrency has topped its previous bull market peak, nearly two months after Bitcoin surpassed its December 2017 record price to hit $41,900.
Ether, which is the world’s second-biggest cryptocurrency (by market value), has almost doubled year-to-date.
ETH has outpaced the top cryptocurrency on a year-to-date basis with a 92% gain.
Bitcoin, on the other hand, has risen 27% so far this year.
Bitcoin has been manning the spotlight for several months now, all thanks to a blistering rally that saw it climb up to new highs.
The digital coin shot up close to $42,000 few weeks ago, but has experienced decline since. It was last trading at $36,980, according to CNBC.
The altcoin benefited from interest in Decentralized Finance (DeFi) trading built around the Ethereum network, within the context of a broader altcoin resurgence which began taking shape earlier in January.
Cointelegraph Markets analyst Michaël van de Poppe, tweeted that if this climb by the altcoin continues, it might get to $1,600.
Ether is also up well over 1000% since the initial public sale of ETH in 2015, according to Messari.
Ryan Watkins, a researcher at Messari, added that Ether does $3 billion worth of transaction daily, more than Bitcoin.
About Ethereum
Ethereum is a decentralized, open-source blockchain featuring smart contract functionality.
Ethereum technology lets you send cryptocurrency to anyone for a small fee. It also powers applications that everyone can use and no one can take down.
Ether is a cryptocurrency, just like Bitcoin. It is the native cryptocurrency of Ethereum blockchain, and the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, after Bitcoin.
The Ethereum blockchain was co-founded by Russian-Canadian developer, Vitalik Buterin, who remains the project’s most well-known personality.
The development of Ethereum was crowdfunded in 2014, and the network went live on 30 July 2015, with 72 million coins pre-mined.
Ethereum has already started work on implementing a series of upgrades, which is call Ethereum 2.0. This upgrade includes a transition to proof of stake.