Ethereum rises 5% at $2,509; bitcoin firm

Cryptocurrency Ethereum climbed over 5% on Monday to $2,523 but remained more than 40% below a record high of above $4,300 hit earlier this month.

At 0950 GMT, it was trading up 4.1% at $2,495.69.

Larger rival, Bitcoin, the world’s biggest and best-known cryptocurrency, was up 0.8% at $36,987 in quiet trading with London and U.S. markets shut for holidays.

Bitcoin has been less volatile in recent days but is down by more than 35% this month, weighed by growing regulatory pressures on the sector.

It is currently trading at levels last seen in February and at roughly half its peak value of $65,000 seen in April.

What is Ether (ETH)?

ETH is a cryptocurrency. It is scarce digital money that you can use on the internet – similar to Bitcoin. If you’re new to crypto, here’s how ETH is different from traditional money.

You only need an internet connection and a wallet to accept ETH. You don’t need access to a bank account to accept payments.

ETH is divisible up to 18 decimal places so you don’t have to buy 1 whole ETH. You can buy fractions at a time – as little as 0.000000000000000001 ETH if you want.