Crypto: Ether hits record high at $4,400 as crypto surge continues

A previous headline erroneously said $44,000. The record is $4,400.

Ether, the second-largest digital currency by market value — hit a record high Thursday night at $4,400.

As of 10:30 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, ether ETHUSD, +1.98% had pulled back slightly, recently trading at $4,370, according to Kraken data. The cryptocurrency reached its previous all-time high at $4,379 on May 12.

Ether, which runs on the Ethereum blockchain, has skyrocketed 55% over the past month, and is up about 476% year to date.

The surge by ether has followed a route taken by bitcoin BTCUSD, -0.73% — the world’s No. 1 crypto — which hit a record high above $66,000 earlier this month. Bitcoin has surged 50% over the past month, and is up 112% in 2021.

Ether’s market cap is currently about $515 billion, a bit less that half that of bitcoin, which is valued at about $1.1. trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.com.