Is blockchain 2.0 the future? Ethereum hits a record high, a rumor triggers the market

Cailian Press (Shanghai, editor Xiaoxiang) reported that as the undisputed "two giants" in the field of cryptocurrency, people are often accustomed to comparing Bitcoin to the "gold" of the cryptocurrency market and Ethereum to the "silver" of the market. However, in the view of many blockchain veterans, compared with the blockchain 1.0 "coin era" born with the rise of Bitcoin, the blockchain 2.0 programmable financial applications represented by Ethereum are more representative of the future development direction of blockchain.

This week, a new report completely ignited the trading enthusiasm of Ethereum holders. According to reports from multiple media outlets citing sources, the European Investment Bank is planning to issue "digital bonds" on the Ethereum blockchain network.

The European Investment Bank plans to issue a two-year 100 million euro digital bond, led by Goldman Sachs, Santander and Societe Generale, sources said.

Although the news has not been officially confirmed, Danny Kim, head of revenue at cryptocurrency broker SFOX, said that reports that the European Investment Bank will issue digital bonds have raised more optimistic prospects for institutional acceptance of Ethereum.

After rising more than 5% the day before, Ethereum hit a new all-time high during the Asian session on Wednesday, reaching $2,713. As of press time, Ethereum was trading at $2,625.

From the perspective of blockchain, Bitcoin is the representative product of blockchain 1.0, while Ethereum can be said to be an upgraded version of the former, namely blockchain 2.0, which applies blockchain technology to more pan-financial fields besides digital currency. Based on the programmable characteristics of blockchain, people try to add smart contracts to the blockchain system to form programmable finance.

It's not just the digital bonds mentioned above. As more investors buy virtual art or land in the form of NFTs on platforms such as SuperRare and Decentraland, the demand for Ether is also rising.

It is worth mentioning that for cryptocurrency investors, the trend comparison between Ethereum and Bitcoin in the future may be worthy of special attention.

The financial blog zerohedge noted that the ratio between Ethereum and Bitcoin has now broken through the highs of earlier April. If investors are worried about a pullback in the cryptocurrency market, they may be able to find investment opportunities from the changes in the price difference between the two major cryptocurrencies.

Cryptocurrency analyst Altcoin Sherpa expects Ethereum to continue to outperform Bitcoin in the coming weeks, with a target price of $3,000.

Statistics from cryptocurrency research firm Arcane show that Bitcoin's share of the total market value of crypto assets has now dropped to 51.8%, the lowest level in two years, while Ethereum's share has increased even more than Bitcoin's decline.