Ether hits new record high, crests $4,000 milestone

Just a week after topping $3,000 for the first time, Ether — the cryptocurrency that runs on the ethereum blockchain — passed another milestone at $4,000.

Ether
ETHUSD,
+3.58%
hit a new all-time high Sunday night, and was at $4,058.82 as of midnight Eastern, according to Kraken data.

Last week, crypto expert Nigel Green, founder and CEO of deVere Group, predicted Ether would soon hit $5,000 on “growing recognition that borderless digital currencies are the future of money.”

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The No. 2 cryptocurrency by market value has boomed in recent months, as part of a massive surge by digital assets. Ether has jumped more than 30% in the past week, and now has a market cap of nearly $460 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.com.

Ether is up more than 437% year to date, and has soared more than 2,000% in the past year.

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Meanwhile, bitcoin
BTCUSD,
+1.96%,
the world’s largest cryptocurrency, was closing in on the $60,000 level for the first time since April 17. As of Sunday night, bitcoin was priced at $59,287, according to Coindesk data.