Ethereum’s cryptocurrency Ether recently exceeded the psychological barrier of USD 3,000. This increase allowed Vitalik Buterin to become the youngest billionaire in the crypto industry.
Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin recently became the youngest billionaire following a rise in the price of Ether. Buterin’s public Ether address, which is his primary wallet, has reached a balance of USD 1 billion. That is due to the dramatic increase in the price of Ether above the psychological mark of USD 3,000 in recent days.
Some members of the cryptocurrency network gave their opinion on this event. They consider that 27-year-old Vitalik Buterin could now be the youngest billionaire in the crypto industry.
Buterin has been generous with his cryptocurrency holdings amid the rising prices in the market. At the end of April, the Russian-Canadian programmer donated 100 Ether and 100 Maker (MKR) tokens. That amount went to a relief fund for COVID-19 victims in India.
The Price of Ether Places It Above Bank of America
The price of the second cryptocurrency on the market has exceeded the psychological mark of USD 3,000 per unit. The price of ETH reached that milestone on several major exchanges, including Binance, Bybit, Coinbase, and BitMEX.
Ethereum has been able to outperform The Walt Disney Company and the Bank of America, among other institutions, in terms of total market capitalization thanks. In the last week, the smart contracts company has grown by 24% reaching USD 346.72 billion, according to the tracking website Infinite Marketcap.
Regarding Bitcoin, the pioneering cryptocurrency currently has a market capitalization of USD 1.079 trillion. That figure is just below the total market capitalization of silver, which is at USD 1.416 trillion. Besides, it is above that of the social media company Facebook, which is at USD 923.120 million.
The Factors Contributing to the Increase in the Value of the Ethereum Network
Many tout the Ethereum blockchain as the potential backbone of the Internet of the future. However, the Ethereum protocol is different from the traditional Internet as it is much more suitable to capture the value of the apps created on it.
The main factors driving the price of Ether higher are decentralized finance (DeFi), the rise of the NFT market, and the demand for stablecoins. Although the Ethereum blockchain has congested networks and high gas fees, it still houses most of the DeFi space and the creation of NFT.
The increase in the price of Ethereum is also linked to the increase in activity in the chain and institutional entities. For example, the European Investment Bank recently announced that it would issue a two-year digital bond worth USD 121 million.
Lately, there has been a growing interest in DeFi from retail investors. Additionally, the total locked value (TVL) has reached all-time highs above USD 100 billion.
The community is preparing for the upcoming Ethereum hard fork London scheduled for July. Since this update will allow making more transactions for lower fees, traders are more attracted to investing in it.
By Alexander Salazar
