An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Ether, the native currency of the Ethereum network and the second most valuable cryptocurrency, has soared above $1,000 for the first time since 2018. The rise is part of a broad cryptocurrency boom inspired by the continued rise in bitcoin’s price. Last month, bitcoin rose above $20,000, smashing its previous all-time record of around $19,500. Since then, it has continued to rise, breaking above $30,000 in recent days. As I write this, one bitcoin is worth around $31,000.
Cryptocurrencies tend to rise and fall together. So it’s not surprising that other virtual currencies are also on the rise. Ether has seen dramatic gains over the last year. At the start of 2020, one ether was worth around $140. The price rose to around $600 in late November, the same month bitcoin started flirting with a new record. In the last few days, ether has been on a tear, rising from $600 on Christmas Day to more than $1,000 today. It isn’t just ether. Litecoin, one of the oldest “altcoins,” has seen its value triple over the last three months to $150. Bitcoin Cash, a variant of bitcoin that’s optimized for high transaction volumes, has nearly doubled over the same period and is now worth $400. Polkadot and Tether have also seen continued growth in recent months.
The one exception is XRP, the currency of the Ripple network. “Just before Christmas, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged two Ripple executives with selling unregistered securities,” reports Ars. “The announcement has caused some US cryptocurrency exchanges to stop offering trades in XRP. XRP has lost two-thirds of its value since a November peak.” Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., also suspended trading in XRP.
of this story at Slashdot.
Source:: Slashdot