The second largest cryptocurrency in the market is set to grow further as it hits all-time high above $3000. In terms of the market capitalization of Ethereum (ETH), it has surpassed major organizations such as Bank of America and The Walt Disney Company.

The price of ETH has been recorded higher than $3000 on popular crypto exchanges including ByBit, BitMEX and Coinbase.

Keeping in view the rise in ETH’s price, there have been speculations of the digital currency to overtake Bitcoin as world’s largest cryptocurrency. This might be a suitable time for many interested parties to start investing in cryptocurrencies by using popular exchanges such as SwissBorg or Kraken.

Factors Causing the Rise in Ethereum

There are a few influencing factors that have contributed to the rise in Ethereum’s price. One of the reasons for the surge in Ethereum is the activity on the chain caused by major bank entities. According to recent reports, the European Investment Bank announced that it will issue a two-year digital bond worth $121 million in association with Goldman Sachs, Banco Santander and Societe Generale.  

The European Investment Bank has used ETH as the network allows the creation of numerous fungible tokens such as ERC-20.

The DeFi (decentralized finance), mostly powered by ETH, is also bigger than before with total value locked above $100 billion.

Highly-anticipated Ethereum Updates to Come

A growth of 24% to $346.72 billion has been observed for the largest smart contract platform in the world. Whereas, Bitcoin has been reportedly set at a market capitalization of $1.079 trillion, placing it above Facebook ($923.12 billion) and below the metal silver ($1.416 trillion).

There are a few important and highly-anticipated updates to Ethereum that are likely to boost the growth of the cryptocurrency. As per reports, ETH will be integrating an upgrade called EIP-1559 in the coming months. The anticipation of the upgrade alone has added great value to ETH and will continue to increase its price once the upgrade goes live.

Ethereum is also expected to upgrade to Ethereum 2.0, which is likely to decrease the transaction fee and increase the network’s throughput. The Ethereum 2.0 upgrade will also be switching the network from current energy-intensive proof-of-work to proof-of-stake.

As compared to the beginning of this year, Ethereum has showcased impressive growth. Previously accounting for 12.8% of the market, Ethereum now accounts for 14.65% of the market.

People who are interested in stepping into the world of crypto should keep an eye out for such updates and use a popular exchange such as ByBit to trade or invest in the cryptocurrencies at the right time. Existing and potential traders who do not have enough time on their hands to actively trade can also opt for copy-trading by using PrimeXBT Covesting.