The worlds second-most prominent crypto on Friday touched a fresh record above $2,100. <\/p>\n
Ether ETHUSD, +0.95%, running atop the ethereum blockchain, were recently up 6% at around $2,087 after touching an all-time high at $2,105.68 Friday, according to CoinDesk. That is handily above its Feb. 20 record at $2,036.55 put. <\/p>\n
Gains for the crypto, which is known for its ability to allow smart contracts to be coded into the ethereum protocol, comes as Visa Inc. V, +0.65% has become the first major payment platform to use USD Coin, a stablecoin backed by the U.S. dollar, to settle crypto transactions over the ethereum blockchain. <\/p>\n
Visa users will be able to exchange USD Coin over the credit cards payment network to clear transactions made in fiat currency, a move that is viewed as bridging the gap between traditional currencies and crypto. <\/p>\n
The move by the payment processor highlights growing use of decentralized finance applications, largely operating within the ethereum network, to create new, blockchain-related applications that take advantage of smart contracts. <\/p>\n
Decentralized finance networks, or DeFi, enable users to conduct transactions without an intermediary and have widely been considered one of the most significant appeals of cryptographic assets. <\/p>\n
Over the last year, more than $45 billion worth of user funds have been locked into Ethereum-based applications that fall under this new DeFi category, which seeks to recreate traditional financial products in decentralized ways, wrote Sergey Nazarov, the co-Founder of Chainlink, a gateway network that allows smart contracts to access real-time data outside their network.<\/p>\n
The promise for the utility of smart contracts and DeFi have supported the view held by some that ethereum could one day rival bitcoin prices. <\/p>\n
Basically, theres a decentralized Wall Street blooming on top of ethereum thats currently growing faster than any other sector in the entire cryptocurrency industry, and it all requires ETH to function, likely explaining a good portion of the increased attention on the asset, Nazarov said. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, bitcoin prices BTCUSD, +0.62% were seeing muted trade, changing hands at around $58,000, beneath its all-time high at $61,556.59, according to CoinDesk. <\/p>\n
Optimism around bitcoin and the broader crypto sector has been centered on increased institutional adoption of digital assets as alternatives to gold and other commodities. <\/p>\n
On top of that, a report late this week points to an initial public offering of Coinbase Global Inc. COIN, +3.70%, which plans to go public on April 14 under the ticker symbol Coin via a direct listing on the Nasdaq Inc. NDAQ, +1.82% <\/p>\n
Coinbase founded in 2012 provides crypto trading services for institutional and retail clients and is considered the largest digital exchange platform in the U.S.<\/p>\n
Ether has gained 180% so far in 2021, far outstripping bitcoin, up 105%, over the same period. By comparison, the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.17% is up over 8%, the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.42% has climbed 7% so far this year, while gold futures GC00, -0.43% are down nearly 9% in the year to date. <\/p>\n
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