Ethereum price hits new all-time high amid crypto market frenzy

Ethereum has risen in price by more than 1,000 per cent over the last year (Getty Images)

The price of ethereum reached above $2,000 on Friday to hit a new all-time high.

The cryptocurrency has seen massive gains over the last 12 months, having traded below $150 at the beginning of April last year.

It peaked at $2,071.67 just before 4pm BST, according to the CoinMarketCap price index, though the price rally shows no signs of slowing down.

Ethereum’s latest record comes amid a crypto market frenzy, which has seen bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies experience huge price rises in recent months.

The market has been boosted by major institutional investment, as well as increased adoption by retailers and payment platforms.

“Ethereum’s price started to rally just as Visa started using its network to settle cryptocurrency transactions,” Greg Waisman, the co-founder and COO of the payment network Mercuryo, told The Independent.

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“Ethereum has seen other beneficial developments, such as prominent investor Mark Cuban revealing that he owns a lot of ethereum, as he thinks that ETH is the closest to a true currency.

“As for the future, ethereum breaking the $2,000 mark is a major achievement, which will possibly allow it to start using this level as a support and continue going higher up.”

Crypto market analysts have also attributed the remarkable price gains to the economic chaos brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

David Derhy, an analyst at the online trading platform eToro, said that “expectations of further government stimulus” had also contributed to ethereum’s rise.