Ethereum’s price breaches past US$1,700

On Friday, February 5, 2021, Ethereum’s price climbed up to US$1,700, which is the first time that the digital asset surged past this mark. Since its update on the current blockchain was announced on December 1, 2020, Ethereum’s value has been consistently rising during the first quarter of 2021.

Sachin Patodia, a partner in Avon Ventures, said that the price surge of Ether (ETH) and other altcoins was due to the positive momentum of Bitcoin’s value in the past few months.

‘We’ve seen this pattern over many crypto cycles that we’ve gone through, where bitcoin leads the way in price movement, and then you see what we call the alt-coins get carried along,’ stated Patodia.

Currently, a Chicago-based exchange called the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has announced that it will start offering ETH in its portfolio.

Simon Peters, a digital asset analyst, said that the CME’s massive purchase of Ether on February 6, 2021 may drive the surge of its price further.

‘This move by the CME may spark further buying of ether by new entrants to the market because it provides a way for sophisticated investors to hedge their risk against positions that they may be holding on the underlying asset.’

‘However, it is worth noting that, like bitcoin, CME ether futures will be cash settled so as not to involve any physical delivery, so we shouldn’t necessarily expect a major impact on spot prices,’ Peters added.

Other digital asset experts also believe that the major update of the Ethereum Network is one of the biggest contributors to its positive growth lately. In December last year, Ethereum’s blockchain addressed the scalability and functionality issues of the previous network.

According to Qiao Wang, investor and researcher, the traditional institutions that purchased Bitcoin are now eyeing Ethereum.

‘The earliest traditional financial institutions that bought BTC are already looking at ETH, if not bought already. And rightfully so. The most used crypto network + future of finance + a potential deflationary monetary policy narrative make it extremely compelling.’

Wang said that Ether can enter a bullish run and escalate past US$5,000 and higher in the future.