Ethereum price sets new record as institutions start a buying frenzy
To date, institutions have purchased nearly $14 billion worth of Ether
- S&P Dow Jones recently launched three crypto indices that are tied to Ether and Bitcoin.
- Over the course of the past week, institutional players bought over $30 million worth of ETH.
- Experts believe the rise of decentralized finance (DeFi) will continue to push ETH higher.
The last 24 hours have been quite exciting for Ether, with the second-largest cryptocurrency by total market capitalization breaking past the $3,500 barrier yesterday. As a result of its ongoing price action, the premier altcoin has recorded gains of 60% over the past week. At press time, a single Ether token is trading at $3,420.
Providing his thoughts on Ethereum’s current market action, Antonio Vazquez, head of communications at Hermez Network, told Finder that the value of the ETH/BTC pair has reached the top of the ascending channel that it’s been in for months. “Although a break to the upside is possible, I would imagine that Bitcoin going back to price discovery mode will send ETH/BTC back down,” he added.
Similarly, George Harrap, CEO and founder of STEP Finance and head of DeFi at YAP Global, believes ETH is at a crossroads right now. One that will, in hindsight, most likely be viewed as a turning point in the currency’s history. He added:
“ETH is at a turning point and the rapid growth of DeFi is fueling the rise of its price as investors bet on the future growth of the currency being positive for the entire ecosystem.”
S&P announced the launch of cryptocurrency indices
One of the world’s leading providers of index-based data, S&P Dow Jones Indices, recently revealed that it had launched a total of three crypto indices that have their performance tied to Bitcoin and Ether. These include the Bitcoin-based S&P Bitcoin Index (SPBTC), Ether-based S&P Ethereum Index (SPETH) and S&P Cryptocurrency MegaCap Index (SPCMC).
All of these indices have been designed to help track the performance of Bitcoin and Ether based on their weighted market capitalization. Not only that, all three indices can be accessed immediately via S&P’s website.
All of S&P’s crypto pricing and reference data will be provided to the company by Lukka, a world-renowned data aggregator backed by S&P DJI’s parent company “S&P Global,” along with other major players including the controversial George Soros as well as accounting adviser CPA.com.
Institutional accumulation of ETH is rising
According to a report released by digital asset management firm CoinShares, institutional investment managers have purchased more than $30.2 million worth of Ether over the last 7 days, bringing their total holdings up to a total of $13.9 billion.
Not only that, but inflows into Ethereum products also seem to be gaining ground fairly rapidly, especially as an increasing number of investors across the globe continue to devote their focus and resources on the smart-contract platform. In this regard, month-to-date inflows into various ETH products now stands around $170 million, while investments that have poured into this space since the start of the year are touted to be worth over $80 billion.
Interested in cryptocurrency? Learn more about the basics with our beginner’s guide to Bitcoin, dive deeper by learning about Ethereum and see what blockchain can do with our simple guide to DeFi.
Disclosure: The author owns a range of cryptocurrencies at the time of writing
Picture: Finder
