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Ether Tops $1.7K, Setting New Record as CME Futures Launch Nears

The cryptocurrency has gained 30% so far this week.

Updated Sep 14, 2021, 12:07 p.m. Published Feb 5, 2021, 2:22 p.m. 1 min read
Ether prices over 24 hours.

Ether's (ETH) bull run continues with prices topping the $1,700 mark to set new all-time highs.

At the current price of $1,717, the native token of Ethereum's blockchain is up 5% on a 24-hour basis, according to CoinDesk 20 data. The cryptocurrency has gained 30% so far this week.

Trader and analyst Alex Kruger foresees a continued rally toward $1,920 ahead of the launch of ether futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on Feb. 8.

Ether's recent rally looks similar to bitcoin's staggering rise from nearly $6,200 to $19,783 seen in weeks leading up to the CME futures launch on Dec. 17, 2017. The bull market ended following the futures launch and prices fell as low as $3,200 by December 2018.

Kruger does not expect a big dump in ether after Feb. 8. "I don't expect a crash after the launch, as it happened in 2017. For two reasons. First, the market is now more mature, the macro is different, and there are different players involved. Second, ETH remains a high beta asset. BTC determines the market direction, ETH follows," Kruger tweeted.

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(Win McNamee/Getty Images)

CNBC reported Tuesday that Musk is discussing a merger between Tesla and SpaceX that would tie his tech empire closer together and instantly create the world’s fifth-largest corporate bitcoin treasury, worth $3.3 billion.

What to know:

  • Elon Musk is exploring a potential merger of Tesla and SpaceX, a move that would deepen operational overlap in areas such as power infrastructure and AI-related computing.
  • A combined Tesla-SpaceX entity would control about 30,221 bitcoin, worth roughly $3.3 billion, making it the fifth-largest public corporate holder of the cryptocurrency.