Digital coin Ether hits record high as 2021 gains near 500%

Cryptocurrency ether hit a record high on Wednesday, taking gains this year to almost 500% on the back of a growing interest in decentralised finance applications and increasing institutional interest in cryptocurrencies.

Ether, the second-biggest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation after bitcoin, climbed to $4,372.35, eclipsing its previous record hit on Monday, and was last up 2%. Bitcoin was down a touch at $56,240.

Ether has jumped almost 500% against the dollar this year as the ethereum blockchain becomes more widely used by peer-to-peer – or decentralised – cryptocurrency platforms that enable crypto-denominated lending outside of traditional banking institutions.