Ether jumps to new high near $3,500 as momentum builds behind the cryptocurrency – and analysts say $5,200 is the next target

Ether jumps to new high near $3,500 as momentum builds behind the cryptocurrency – and analysts say $5,200 is the next target

Ether jumped to a record high of close to $3,500 on Tuesday as interest in the world's second-biggest cryptocurrency continued to grow, while bitcoin struggled.

Analysts at the Kraken exchange said there was a lot of momentum behind ether and that technical chart analysis suggested the cryptocurrency could rise to around $5,200 before facing another serious level of resistance.

Ether rose 6.7% on Tuesday to $3,381.20 as of 6.20 a.m. ET time, according to CoinGecko. It had earlier hit an all-time high of $3,446.90 after rising more than 33% over seven days.

The native currency of the Ethereum blockchain network has been on a hot streak in recent weeks while bitcoin - the world's biggest cryptocurrency - has stumbled. Ether's year-to-date gain stood at 357% on Tuesday, compared to bitcoin's 93% rise.

Many investors are increasingly keen on ether and the Ethereum network because applications such as non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, can be built upon it. Ethereum is also central to decentralized finance or DeFi, a movement to use blockchain technology to cut out the need for central parties such as banks in financial contracts.

"Compared to its bigger rival, Ethereum is more scalable, offers more uses and solutions, such as smart contracts which are