Ether, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency rose to US $2,000 for the first time, as the rally in digital assets continues to broaden beyond Bitcoin.

The digital token for the Ethereum network gained as much as 2.3% to US$2,014 on Friday. It has surged about 170% this year. The Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index gained gained about 3%, while Bitcoin was little changed after more than doubling this year.

"We’re now really breaking higher and that will very likely attract buying activity, ” said Julius de Kempenaer, senior analyst at StockCharts.com. "Ether is gaining in relative strength versus Bitcoin.”

The token has mirrored the gains in Bitcoin over the past year amid a flood of stimulus aimed at boosting the global economy during the Covid-19 pandemic. Critics warn that crypto is a speculative bubble that will likely burst.

Ether has a market value of about US$230bil , compared with about US$1.1tril for Bitcoin, according to data from CoinMarketCap.com.

 - Bloomberg