on the crypto
The price of ether (quotation ETH), the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain network, rose to record highs on Tuesday morning. Prices reached $ 1.439,33 around 12:00 UTC, a little above the previous all-time high of $ 1.432,88 recorded on January 13, 2018.
Ether records 92% growth in 2021
The digital asset rose nearly 12% on Tuesday to hit the new price record. Ether (ETH) first hinted at an impending rally to unprecedented levels earlier this month, but subsequently underwent a brief market correction as bitcoin (BTC) slashed its price from $ 40.000 to $ 30.000. last week.
The cryptocurrency broke its previous high nearly two weeks after bitcoin broke its December 2017 record high of $ 41.900 earlier this month. With this bull run, ether becomes the fastest-growing cryptocurrency year-on-year for 2021, with an astonishing 92%. So far, bitcoin's earnings are hovering around 27% for 2021.
Ethereum's value proposition
Ethereum is a blockchain on which decentralized applications (dapps), such as prediction markets or exchanges, can be developed. Such tools are the basis of decentralized finance (DeFi), which is by far considered the best use case of Ethereum.
The DeFi market recently passed about $ 22 billion in total value locked (TVL), a parameter similar to that of assets under management (AUM). Dapps function like normal applications, but inherit the characteristics of blockchain-based technologies, such as resistance to censorship. DeFi Markets allow automated, unauthorized lending, trading and lending to anyone with an internet connection.
The Ethereum blockchain was co-founded and originally conceived by Russian-Canadian developer Vitalik Buterin, who remains the project's best-known personality. DeFi applications typically also have their own tokens, generally based on Ethereum. That market, in particular, enjoyed a second bull run after last summer's growing popularity.
Ethereum 2.0
Looking ahead, Ethereum developers and fans are attempting to position the blockchain project as a censorship-resistant entry-level operating against the backdrop of tomorrow's internet.
The underlying concept of this theory is generally referred to as Web 3.0 and aims to unite today's social networks with global monetary systems in all their complexity. Ethereum took a significant step in this direction on December 1, 2020 with the release of a new blockchain, the Beacon Chain, which brought about the innovative proof-of-stake, an algorithm according to which backers' funds are used to support the network, rather than for mining.
This update is known as Ethereum 2.0 and is only the first step in a series of transitions to update the current blockchain with the aim of managing an entire financial system.
