Ether, the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum network, has broken through the $4,000 mark for the first time in eight months. The price surge comes amid a wave of institutional investment and significant network growth.
The price of ether (ETH) rose to an intraday high of over $4,013 on Friday, according to data from Coinbase. This marks the first time the asset has traded above this level since December 16 of last year. Over the last month, ETH has seen its value increase by more than 50%. While this is a significant rally, the cryptocurrency is still down about 18% from its all-time high of approximately $4,867, which was set in November 2021.
The recent gains follow a period earlier in the year when ETH underperformed compared to bitcoin (BTC). The ratio between the two assets hit a low in April, but since then, ETH has gained roughly 90% against BTC, though it still lags behind bitcoin’s year-to-date performance.
The dramatic increase in ether’s price is being attributed to a few key factors. New companies have emerged, raising and investing billions of dollars in ETH, mirroring the strategy pioneered by Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy for bitcoin. Leading these firms are BitMine, SharpLink, and The Ether Machine, which collectively hold billions of dollars worth of ETH. Analysts at Standard Chartered believe these firms are “just getting started” and could expand their holdings significantly over time.
Inflows into U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs have accelerated, adding nearly $5 billion in the last month alone. These products, which began trading in July 2024, have now seen a total net inflow of over $9.4 billion. The Ethereum network recently reached a new all-time high of 1.74 million daily transactions, surpassing a previous record set in May 2021. This surge in activity indicates strong, growing usage of the network.
