The cryptocurrency frenzy continues this week as Ether, the digital coin on the Ethereum Blockchain, hits an all time high.
In the crypto industry, Ether and Ethereum are used interchangeably, with Ethereum often being used to refer both to the coin and the blockchain it exists on.
Ether is the world's second largest crypto currency, with just Bitcoin sitting ahead of it.
READ NEXT - Martin Lewis warns everyone with a mobile phone they could be losing money
Although analysts predict that Ether is going to take over Bitcoin in 2022, the latter is still enjoying the wave of momentum, helping it edge close to its all-time record.
This rise is the latest in a long-standing crypto rally which saw Ether rise by around 59% since the start of October.
Why is this happening, and how much are the crypto currencies actually worth?
How much is Ether and Bitcoin worth now?
On Monday (November 8), Ether topped $4,767 (£3,519.60), a new record for the coin.
At the time of writing, Ether has settled at £3,491.09 with a market cap of £16.8bn, which is an upward growth of almost 2 per cent in the last 24 hours.
As Ether topped its max, Bitcoin was up close to 7% on Monday when it neared its $66,000, which is close to its all time record of $67,000, according to crypto tracker CoinDesk.
Since then, the Bitcoin surge has dropped to 5 per cent, to a price of £48,382.60 and market cap of £911.8bn.
To put these prices into perspective, the third most valuable coin is Binance Coin, which is currently trading at £481.09.
Bitcoin prices have risen 325% in the last year, while Ether has grown by a whopping 950%.
Why did the price of Ether and Bitcoin rise?
The growing crypto currency prices has been stimulated by growing investment in decentralised finance.
Ether especially is a key player in decentralised finance (DeFi), as some of the biggest DeFi services run on the Ethereum network, including decentralised exchange Uniswap and the lending platform Aave.
Bitcoin has also been enjoying a resurgence since it launched the US-based bitcoin exchange-traded fund.
The growth of Bitcoin could also be preventative, with analysts suggesting it is a sign of investors trying to ward off inflation.
The crypto market is notoriously volatile, as its immaturity means it is vulnerable to market changes, as well as social media hype.
Overall, however, the market is enjoying growing mainstream financial acceptance.
Recently, Australia's biggest bank announced it will offer crypto trading to retail customers.
While Singaporean authorities sounded positive on the asset class and New York Mayor-elect, Eric Adams, signalled he wanted to make the city the “centre of the cryptocurrency", pledging to take his first three salary payments in Bitcoin.
In Your Area has news for the postcode you live in.
