Digital Coin Ether Hits Record High As 2021 Gains Near 500%

INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Ether is the second-biggest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation after bitcoinCryptocurrency ether hit a record high on Wednesday, taking
interest in cryptocurrencies
Ether, the second-biggest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation after bitcoin, climbed to $4,372.35, eclipsing its previous record hit on
Monday, and was last up two per cent
Bitcoin was down a touch at $56,240
decentralised - cryptocurrency platforms that enable crypto-denominated lending outside of traditional banking institutions.The surge has
also seen ether - which in the crypto world is also widely referred to as ethereum - outperform bitcoin, which has almost doubled in price
this year as larger investors warm to the emerging technology
United States bank J.P
Morgan on Wednesday said the pace of evolution in the ethereum market has "remained rapid" and that there was still room for growth.Open
interest in CME Ethereum futures had increased to $540 million in three months, the bank's analysts said in a note
A similar level of open interest in CME Bitcoin futures took more than two years after listing in 2017, they added."Effectively, once
Bitcoin futures became more accepted among institutional investors, they became more comfortable with cryptocurrencies paving the way for a
more rapid acceptance of ethereum futures," J.P
Morgan said.Still, United States regulators warned investors on Tuesday over the risks of bitcoin futures in mutual fund investments
In a statement, the Securities and Exchange Commission said bitcoin was a highly speculative market that lacked regulation.The same J.P
Morgan analysts warned last week that ether's increasing valuation was not underpinned by data showing how widely it is used
Factors such as the number of active digital addresses in its network would be more consistent with a price of around $1,000, the United
States bank said.