Ether, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, has surpassed its previous high, catching up to Bitcoin’s surge and riding on prospects of more blockchain usage.
The Ether token, which powers the Ethereum blockchain network, soared to $4,643 in Asian hours on Wednesday, surpassing the previous day’s high of $4,600 and extending the week’s gains to more than 10%.
Due to its use in the developing DeFi and NFT spaces, as well as its role as the “first-mover” in blockchains, Ethereum experienced a resurgence in attention, demand, and price action following the implementation of the London Hardfork on August 5.
Ethereum’s transition to a proof-of-stake network, which will abolish Ethereum mining and make the currency more long-term sustainable, includes the London Hard fork and updates. The update, also known as “the merge” or “ETH 2.0,” aims to substantially reduce the blockchain’s gas costs.
The blockchain has burned 698,903.60 ETH, or $3.02 billion at the time of writing, since the London hard fork update three months ago, becoming deflationary in the process.
Ethereum has a market cap of over $500 billion and a dominance of just under 20% in the crypto market due to its first mover advantage of being the first to execute smart contracts.
The price of Ether has been stabilizing for the past two weeks under the prior all-time high resistance area. After breaking through this level, the price of Ether appears to be on the cusp of price discovery.