ETHER, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, hit an all-time high yesterday, catching up with Bitcoin’s rally and riding on news of wider blockchain adoption. The Ether token, which underpins the ethereum blockchain network, rose to as high as US$4,643 in Asian hours yesterday, breaching the previous day’s US$4,600 and taking the week’s gains to more than 10 percent. In the days since Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, hit its record high of US$67,016.5 Oct. 20, other tokens on the base layer of blockchain networks, known as Layer 1 networks, have gathered momentum. Bitcoin (BTC) was trading around US$63,078 and is up about 117 percent this year, while Ether is up six-fold. “Since the market reversal at the end of September, Ether’s strength has been moving in stride with BTC and other majors,” said Ryan Rabaglia, managing director and global head of trading at digital asset platform OSL. The steady stream of news on cryptocurrency adoption by banks, growth of non-fungible tokens on virtual gaming platforms, launch of Bitcoin futures-based U.S. ETFs (exchange traded funds) and a need among investors for diversification in an uncertain interest rate environment have pushed several blockchain tokens higher since October. (SD-Agencies) | 