Ethereum soars on the back of NFT interest and crypto investors on the quest for ‘metaverse money‘

<p>Ethereum (ETH) achieved a fresh record high for the second consecutive day on Thursday, riding at least two macroeconomic themes that have established a foothold in the cryptocurrency sector.</p> <p>The second-largest cryptocurrency traded beyond $4600 before reversing course, but has set new highs over the last week, owing in part to the growing popularity of non-fungible tokens (NFT) and decentralised finance (DeFi) initiatives. Ether has surpassed bitcoin over the last year, increasing by more than 1025 percent.</p> <p>These considerations have fueled short-term demand for using the digital token to pay transaction expenses, as well as increased speculation about its value in the so-called metaverse. The latter process is accelerating, as Facebook (FB) has relaunched itself in an ambitious bid to enter the next phase of digital development.</p> <p>Solana (SOL), another cryptocurrency that is similar to ethereum, also soared to new all-time highs Wednesday, gaining about 31% in the last week. Both actions come on the heels of an investment craze for non-fungible tokens, or NFTs.</p> <p>The blockchain of Ether is the engine that powers cryptocurrency transactions.</p> <p>ETH is up 9 percent this week alone, and according to Fundstrat Global Investment Advisors, it may have farther to go in the near term.</p> <p>"Ethereum should continue to move higher, maybe reaching $4,951 with little to no opposition,' Fundstrat Global Investment Advisors wrote on Wednesday. Ether's Relative Strength Index (RSI), a technical indicator of buying activity, indicates that the price has risen without being substantially overbought.</p> <p>Because of NFT's, everyone is hearing about Ethereum in ways that have never occurred before. The public is enthused by NFTs." David Hoffman, host of the podcast 'Bankless'.</p> <p>Ethereum, the blockchain upon which Ether is built, is the world's most established decentralised blockchain technology (or "Layer-1" in technical jargon) for smart contracts.</p> <p>While ether does not en