Ethereum closes above $1,500, Bitcoin hits $36,800

Ethereum saw its price breakout to a new all-time high at $1,555 as increased activity in the derivatives market provided clear signals that traders were bullish on the long-term prospects of the largest altcoin by market capitalization.

Bitcoin price also saw a bullish breakout as it finally crossed above the $35,000 resistance and currently trades for $36,700.

Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) has now been integrated with the Stellar blockchain, enabling the stablecoin to be transacted on the Stellar network and possibly take some of the strain of the clogged Ethereum network.

Data from Glassnode shows USDC transaction volume on Ethereum has steadily been increasing over the past year as the Coinbase backed coin steadily gains ground on Tether (USDT). Utilizing Stellar blockchain will greatly reduce USDC transaction fees and free up space on the Ethereum network.

Strong price performances were also seen from numerous altcoins as the spike in Ether price increased optimism across the sector. Litecoin (LTC) saw a price jump of 13% and currently trades at $153.50, while Maker (MKR) and Solana (SOL) extended their strong performance as each gained nearly 15%.

The overall cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $1.09 trillion and Bitcoin’s dominance rate is 62.3%.