https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/01/ether-soars-above-1000-in-broad-cryptocurrency-rally/ Skip to main content * Biz & IT * Tech * Science * Policy * Cars * Gaming & Culture * Store * Forums Subscribe [ ] Close Navigate * Store * Subscribe * Videos * Features * Reviews * RSS Feeds * Mobile Site * About Ars * Staff Directory * Contact Us * Advertise with Ars * Reprints Filter by topic * Biz & IT * Tech * Science * Policy * Cars * Gaming & Culture * Store * Forums Settings Front page layout Grid List Site theme Black on white White on black Sign in Comment activity Sign up or login to join the discussions! [ ] [ ] [Submit] [ ] Stay logged in | Having trouble? Sign up to comment and more Sign up Blockchain boom -- Ether soars above $1,000 as bitcoin sets another record The value of all cryptocurrencies in circulation is more than $850 billion. Timothy B. Lee - Jan 4, 2021 5:08 pm UTC Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin. Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin. TechCrunch reader comments 123 with 65 posters participating, including story author Share this story * Share on Facebook * Share on Twitter * Share on Reddit 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. Further Reading Want to really understand how bitcoin works? Here's a gentle primer 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. A new cryptocurrency called Polkadot has tripled in value since it was introduced in August. Polkadot was co-founded by Gavin Wood, who was also a co-founder of Ethereum, so investors are hoping it will be the "next Ethereum." Polkadot has already become one of the 10 most valuable cryptocurrencies, eclipsing virtual currencies that have been around for much longer. Advertisement Recent months have also seen continued growth in Tether, a cryptocurrency whose value is pegged to the US dollar. Cryptocurrency traders like Tether because it enables them to hold virtual dollars without the paperwork hassles imposed by the conventional banking system. While experts have long warned about the currency's shaky foundations, it has maintained its $1 peg for several years. Over the last year, the value of Tether coins in circulation has grown by a factor of five--from $4 billion in early 2020 to $21 billion today. One exception to the general bullishness of the cryptocurrency market is XRP, the currency of the Ripple network. Just before Christmas, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged two Ripple executives with selling unregistered securities. The SEC action looks all the way back to the original issuance of XRP in 2013, raising doubts about the legal foundations of the Ripple network. 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. Overall, bitcoin continues to dominate the cryptocurrency market. The value of all bitcoins in circulation is $580 billion. The number two cryptocurrency, ether, is worth $115 billion. Tether is worth $21 billion, and XRP is worth $10 billion. No other cryptocurrency is worth more than $10 billion, and the value of all other cryptocurrencies put together is about $120 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. Bitcoin accounts for 68 percent of the value of the entire cryptocurrency market. Promoted Comments * Aurich Lawson Creative Director jump to post samanime wrote: Serious question: if I'm a bitcoin billionaire, how much can I really convert to cash? It's kind of like having stock. It's basically just a value on paper. It doesn't become money until you cash it out. But unlike stock, to convert a bitcoin I have to use one of the brokers. How many of them are really going to let me (or even be capable of) withdraw a million dollars worth? Let alone a billion. I suspect a million would be easy. There are plenty of people who want in, covering a million is probably simple. A billion? Different strokes, but what normal bank can you roll up to and say "hello, I'd like a billion dollars in cash please?" At a certain point money becomes very abstract. And that's why as much as I find cryptocurrency culture extremely annoying, and would love to just dunk on it all, it's reached a point where it's really not any more stupid than any other kind of currency. All money is stupid, we just collectively agree to buy into the stupidity. One USD is worth something because we all agree it is. There are powerful institutions who collectively keep the hallucination going. Once enough people agree that Bitcoin or anything else has value in the same way it gets its own gravity and mass in the same way. Even people who say things like "we should return to the gold standard!" are just picking some other arbitrary value point. Shiny metal has uses, sure, but gold is valuable because we agree it is too. 26024 posts | registered 6/8/2001 reader comments 123 with 65 posters participating, including story author Share this story * Share on Facebook * Share on Twitter * Share on Reddit Timothy B. Lee Timothy is a senior reporter covering tech policy, blockchain technologies and the future of transportation. He lives in Washington DC. Email timothy.lee@arstechnica.com // Twitter @binarybits Advertisement You must login or create an account to comment. Channel Ars Technica - Previous story Next story - Related Stories Sponsored Stories Powered by Today on Ars * Store * Subscribe * About Us * RSS Feeds * View Mobile Site * Contact Us * Staff * Advertise with us * Reprints Newsletter Signup Join the Ars Orbital Transmission mailing list to get weekly updates delivered to your inbox. Sign me up - CNMN Collection WIRED Media Group (c) 2021 Conde Nast. All rights reserved. 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