Yahoo Finance Ethereum soars above $2,500 to new high
Ethereum (ETH-USD) continued to rally on Thursday afternoon, hitting a new high of $2,586 (£1,864), up roughly 14%.
The world's second cryptocurrency had enjoyed a multi-month rally before recently coming under selling pressure in the wake of Coinbase's (COIN) hotly anticipated IPO, along with bitcoin (BTC-USD).
This was as alarm bells sounded in crypto markets amid reports that the US Treasury was planning to censure financial institutions for money laundering carried out through digital assets. Regulatory action in Turkey also hit sentiment.
However, ethereum price is soaring again.
"A break above $2,500 would be a significant signal for more buyers to join the market. If enough buying pressure is created behind ethereum, the price will begin the next chapter of the run to new all-time highs around $3,000," a report on Coinpage said.
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Meanwhile, Susannah Streeter, senior and markets analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown, told Yahoo Finance that in the current speculative environment ethereum's "future direction is far from certain. The currency’s gains are being fuelled by chatter across internet forums, with influencers jostling for position to push their favoured coins."
"Investors should be extremely cautious about getting caught up in this herd mentality because ethereum is still very much a speculative bet whose valuation has no reliable basis."
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Bitcoin, on the other hand, hasn't had quite the same luck as ethereum. It was down earlier in the day and was trading flat by the afternoon.
“Ethereum has shot back up to record levels... as it shows signs of de-coupling from bitcoin," Simon Peters, cryptoasset analyst at investment platform eToro told Yahoo Finance.
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“Bitcoin has captured the attention of millions of investors, but ethereum offers an alternative. With ether’s dollar valuation significantly lower than bitcoin, it also appeals to investors who want to own whole coins, something which is now far more expensive to achieve with bitcoin," he said.
“With the widespread usage of ethereum's network following its latest upgrade, the cryptoasset continues to offer a lot of opportunities to developers and investors.”
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