The price of ether, the cryptocurrency used on the ethereum blockchain, passed $900 earlier today to a record high of $914, according to CoinDesk’s ethereum price index. Ether has risen by as much as 19% in the last 24 hours.
The value of all ether in circulation now stands at $85 billion, which makes it the third most valuable cryptocurrency in the market, according to data provider CoinMarketCap. That’s $11 billion short of ripple, a cryptocurrency that’s meant to be a new payments system for banks and other financial institutions; and about $150 billion less valuable than bitcoin.
Ether had a good 2017. It rose over 9,100% over those 12 months, making it the sixth best performing major cryptoasset (bitcoin was 14th, rising just 1,318% for the year). Cryptoassets in general, be it ether, ripple, or less well known digital assets like NEM, stellar, and dash, have recently grown in value at bitcoin’s expense. That means bitcoin’s share of the cryptoasset markets has fallen to a historic low of 36%, while other assets have risen.