Crypto Market Capitalization Crosses $2.80 Trillion as Ether Hits $4,600

Amid a resurgent cryptocurrency market, the price of Ethereum (ether) has reached a new all-time high. In trading Tuesday night, the cryptocurrency peaked at $ 4,634, according to the Coingecko price index, putting the entire crypto market at more than $ 2.80 trillion for the first time in its existence.

At the time of writing, Ether was trading at $ 4,551, representing a 4.40 percent gain in the previous 24 hours. The increased use of the Ethereum blockchain network, which is used to develop decentralized applications (dapps) and transact with non-fiat currencies (NFTs), as well as the expectation that it will prove critical in any future metaverse that is being built by Tech giants like Meta Inc., all have contributed to the rise in the price of cryptocurrency (formerly Facebook).

In an interview with The Independent, Dragos Dunica, co-founder of the decentralized app store DappRadar, said: "Everybody is keeping a close eye on Bitcoin, but for me, it's the Ethereum developments that are considerably more exciting."

“As the leading smart contract platform, Ethereum's price is directly influenced by the increasing adoption of decentralized applications (dapps) in the most active categories of DeFi (decentralized finance), NFT (non-fungible tokens) and gaming. Usage is at an all-time high, which is extremely positive news for Ethereum. Before Christmas, I wouldn't be surprised if the price hit $ 10,000. "

One factor contributing significantly to Ether's upward trend is that the number of tokens locked in the Eth2 participation contract has reached 8 million for the first time, continuing the process of depleting the available circulating supply and putting upward pressure on it. Ether price. Overall, the consensus opinion for Ether is bullish, with various experts predicting that the token will hit $ 10,000 by the end of 2021.

A host of other major cryptocurrencies, such as Polkadot (DOT), have recently hit new all-time highs, while bitcoin has just hit a new all-time high as well. The price increases are in line with projections made by numerous leading crypto experts that BTC and the rest of the crypto sector will have a record year in the final quarter of 2021.