<p>Cryptocurrency ether broke past $4,000 on Monday, climbing to a new peak for a third session in a row on bets it may find new uses, lifting other digital currencies in its wake.</p>.<p>Bitcoin hit a three-week high and one-time parody currency dogecoin steadied, arresting a sharp drop after comments from Tesla chief Elon Musk sent it tumbling on Sunday.</p>.<p>Ether, traded using the ethereum blockchain, was last up around 6% for the day on the Binance exchange where it hit $4,119 around midday in Asia. Bitcoin rose to $59,603 and dogecoin steadied around $0.54.</p>.<p>Bitcoin has doubled, ether has soared more than fivefold this year and dogecoin more than a hundredfold as a euphoric mood has spilled over from bitcoin into other crypto assets.</p>.<p>"I think (crypto has) got a lot more institutional involvement than people who haven't followed the market believe," said Chris Weston, head of research at brokerage Pepperstone, pointing to sizeable weekend liquidity.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/business/business-news/cryptocurrency-ether-rises-to-new-record-high-983153.html" target="_blank">Cryptocurrency Ether rises to new record high</a></strong></p>.<p>"And everyone's been in ethereum. It's not a meme joke coin, it actually has some application use," he added, referring to its role in the rise of non-bank facilitated transactions.</p>.<p>The ethereum blockchain has been recently upgraded, which traders think might make it a central player in a trend called "DeFi" or decentralised finance, where digital platforms chip away at banks' dominance of financial transactions.</p>.<p>The sum of ether tokens in circulation is $477 billion according to CoinMarketCap, compared with $1.1 trillion for bitcoin and $69 billion for dogecoin.</p>.<p>Trade in dogecoin, launched as a joke currency with a dog mascot, has concerned analysts as it is mostly impossible to spend and gains are being driven by a speculative frenzy.</p>.<p>It fell by a third in Sunday trade after Musk, a crypto investor, described it as a "hustle" during a television appearance, but it seemed to find support after he tweeted that his SpaceX rocket company would accept it as payment.</p>.<p>"You really couldn't make this stuff up," Rabobank senior macro strategist Michael Every wrote in a note to clients.</p>.<p>"This is not so amusing for an SEC already flagging it will act on crypto, and watching Saturday trading...forget about space: this is a dog eat Doge world in the end."</p>
<p>Cryptocurrency ether broke past $4,000 on Monday, climbing to a new peak for a third session in a row on bets it may find new uses, lifting other digital currencies in its wake.</p>.<p>Bitcoin hit a three-week high and one-time parody currency dogecoin steadied, arresting a sharp drop after comments from Tesla chief Elon Musk sent it tumbling on Sunday.</p>.<p>Ether, traded using the ethereum blockchain, was last up around 6% for the day on the Binance exchange where it hit $4,119 around midday in Asia. Bitcoin rose to $59,603 and dogecoin steadied around $0.54.</p>.<p>Bitcoin has doubled, ether has soared more than fivefold this year and dogecoin more than a hundredfold as a euphoric mood has spilled over from bitcoin into other crypto assets.</p>.<p>"I think (crypto has) got a lot more institutional involvement than people who haven't followed the market believe," said Chris Weston, head of research at brokerage Pepperstone, pointing to sizeable weekend liquidity.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/business/business-news/cryptocurrency-ether-rises-to-new-record-high-983153.html" target="_blank">Cryptocurrency Ether rises to new record high</a></strong></p>.<p>"And everyone's been in ethereum. It's not a meme joke coin, it actually has some application use," he added, referring to its role in the rise of non-bank facilitated transactions.</p>.<p>The ethereum blockchain has been recently upgraded, which traders think might make it a central player in a trend called "DeFi" or decentralised finance, where digital platforms chip away at banks' dominance of financial transactions.</p>.<p>The sum of ether tokens in circulation is $477 billion according to CoinMarketCap, compared with $1.1 trillion for bitcoin and $69 billion for dogecoin.</p>.<p>Trade in dogecoin, launched as a joke currency with a dog mascot, has concerned analysts as it is mostly impossible to spend and gains are being driven by a speculative frenzy.</p>.<p>It fell by a third in Sunday trade after Musk, a crypto investor, described it as a "hustle" during a television appearance, but it seemed to find support after he tweeted that his SpaceX rocket company would accept it as payment.</p>.<p>"You really couldn't make this stuff up," Rabobank senior macro strategist Michael Every wrote in a note to clients.</p>.<p>"This is not so amusing for an SEC already flagging it will act on crypto, and watching Saturday trading...forget about space: this is a dog eat Doge world in the end."</p>