Ethereum is back above USD 4,000 for the first time in five months. The price surge occurred just after Bitcoin broke its All Time High.
Ethereum and Bitcoin are rising in value
The current rise in price is the result of a second run on NFTs, DeFi protocols, not to mention the United States’ first Bitcoin futures ETF.
Bitcoin, the largest crypto in the world, rose by more than 6.5% in the past 24 hours. With that, it managed to reach a new All Time High. This happened just a day after ProShares’ first Bitcoin futures ETF started trading.
This news has helped to boost the crypto currency market. In addition, the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies has reached a new all-time high of over $2.6 trillion.
ETH is also performing great today. The Ethereum price is at its highest point since May. However, Ethereum is not yet at its all-time high. That is in fact at $ 4,360 and was reached on May 10.
Growing popularity of NFTs and DeFi
The growing popularity of both NFTs and decentralized finance (DeFi) has helped Ethereum reaffirm its market dominance. Ethereum is the first and most popular blockchain to use smart contracts.
Many DeFi apps have been built on top of Ethereum via smart contracts. These apps bypass centralized institutions such as banks. The total value locked in DeFi apps has increased rapidly over the course of 2021. A recent rise in October has seen TVL near its all-time high of $99 billion.
Ethereum-based NFTs have proved particularly popular with artists and creators. Major players are starting to take notice, with auction house Sotheby’s launching its own Metaverse marketplace. In addition, 1.4 million users have signed up for crypto exchange Coinbase’s NFT platform. In recent months, NFTs have also taken on a social dimension. With collections such as CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club at the heart of new communities around NFTs. Last month, Sotheby’s auctioned off a collection of NFTs of cartoon monkey profile photos called Bored Ape Yacht Club for $24 million.
