This isn't the only promising development for Ether. Transaction rates are up too, as is the number of new active addresses.
Ether touched all-time highs early on Friday amid a slew of bullish indicators.
The world's second-largest cryptocurrency raced to $4,400 — a $34 improvement on the previous record set last week.
It reflects a remarkable rebound for ETH, which started October at just $3,000.
The surge, which means Ether is outperforming Bitcoin on a 24-hour timeframe, follows a successful upgrade to the Ethereum network.
Altair is a major milestone in the ongoing transition from a Proof-of-Work to a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism.
Analysts say the upgrade moves that a permanent shift to PoS is achievable — increasing confidence that the transition will go smoothly.
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Promising Signs
This isn't the only promising development for Ether. Transaction rates are up too, as is the number of new active addresses.
Meanwhile, data suggests that the number of ETH being burned on a daily basis has broken records for two days straight.
Figures from ethburned.info reveal that 671,500 ETH has now been taken out of circulation for good — and at current prices, that's worth $2.3 billion.
Speculation is growing that an exchange-traded fund for ETH could be approved in the U.S. next year, following in BTC's footsteps.
Deribit's chief commercial officer Luuk Strijers told the Financial Times:
"Simply put, the market seems bullish with regards to ethereum’s potential by year-end or the first quarter."
