Smaller cryptocurrencies are surging after bitcoin’s wild rally took it past $34,000

Smaller cryptocurrencies are surging after bitcoin’s wild rally took it past $34,000

While you've been watching bitcoin's blistering rally, other cryptocurrencies are having a moment.Ether, the digital token of the Ethereum blockchain, climbed past the $1,000 mark Monday to hit its highest level since Feb. 2, 2018. Ether was last trading at $1,038, up 30% in the last 24 hours, according to data from crypto news site CoinDesk.It comes after bitcoin notched a fresh all-time high, briefly topping the $34,000 mark. The world's biggest cryptocurrency by market value rallied to $34,452 early Sunday before easing to around $31,780 on Monday.Even XRP, the virtual currency linked with controversial blockchain start-up Ripple, was climbing Monday. XRP was last up around 7% in the last 24 hours, trading at around 23 cents.It's still worth less than half what it was about two weeks ago, when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint against Ripple claiming the company had conducted an unregistered securities offering with XRP.Meanwhile, litecoin traded over 10% higher Monday to around $155. Litecoin was created by crypto entrepreneur Charles Lee with the intention of processing transactions faster than bitcoin's underlying blockchain network.Alternatives to bitcoin, sometimes referred to as "altcoins" in the cryptocurrency industry, often rally in times of strength for bitcoin.