Something called Ethereum is suddenly all over the news — here's what the bitcoin rival is all about

pulse

June 27, 2017 8:01 PM

Just when you thought you had your head around bitcoin, along comes Ethereum. Here's what the new digital currency is.

This price of an ether token is up 3,000% this year.

Just when you thought you had your head around bitcoin, along comes Ethereum.The word has been in a lot of headlines lately — as the cryptocurrency world's new favorite thing soared in value. To be more specific, the price of something called an ether token is up over 3,000%.Bitcoin, which is far more widely known as an alternative 'currency', is up about 141% so far this year.

But what exactly are ether tokens and Ethereum? And how is it different than bitcoin? We've broken it down for you.

Is it just like Bitcoin?

uilt on a technology called blockchain. That's a kind of ledger that records

Gaining Steam

In June, Ethereum was positioned to surpass bitcoin as the world's largest cryptocurrency by market cap, according to Coindesk. Ether currently trades at $233, but in mid-June it was trading at nearly $400. It's market value got close to 82% of bitcoin's. That number has since shrunk to less than 70%.

Its upward march was underpinned by a spike in interest by big Wall Street and tech firms into the cryptocurrency. According to Coindesk, JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft, and a number of other firms joined forces in February to create the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance. The collaborative venture aims to use the Ethereum platform to integrate blockchain solutions into their infrastructures.

survey recently cited by Nathaniel Popper in The New York Times

mine Ethereum

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