Ethereum Breaks Past $3,000 to Quadruple in Value in 2021

A representation of virtual currency Ethereum are seen in front of a stock graph in this illustration taken February 19, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
A representation of virtual currency Ethereum are seen in front of a stock graph in this illustration taken February 19, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
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Ethereum Breaks Past $3,000 to Quadruple in Value in 2021

A representation of virtual currency Ethereum are seen in front of a stock graph in this illustration taken February 19, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
A representation of virtual currency Ethereum are seen in front of a stock graph in this illustration taken February 19, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

Cryptocurrency ether broke past $3,000 on Monday to set a new record high in a dazzling rally that has outshone the bigger bitcoin, as investors bet that ether will be of ever greater use in a decentralized future financial system.

Ether , the token transacted on the ethereum blockchain, rose 3% on the Bitstamp exchange to $3,051.99 by lunchtime in Asia. It is up more than 300% for the year so far, easily outpacing a 95% rise in the more popular bitcoin.

In part, the big rally is a catch-up to late 2020 gains in bitcoin, said James Quinn, managing director at Q9 Capital, a Hong Kong cryptocurrency private wealth manager.

It also reflects improvements to the ethereum blockchain, he said, and a growing shift towards "DeFi", or decentralized finance, which refers to transactions outside traditional banking for which the ethereum blockchain is a crucial platform.

"At first, the rally was really led by bitcoin because as a lot of the institutional investors came into the space, that would be their natural first port of call," Quinn said.

"But as the rally has matured over the last six months, you have DeFi and a lot of DeFi is built on ethereum."

The launch of ether exchange-traded funds in Canada and surging demand for ether wallets to transact non-fungible tokens such as digital art have also pushed up the price, according to Reuters.

The ether/bitcoin cross rate has soared more than 100% this year and hit a 2.5-year high on Sunday, pointing to a degree of rotation into the second-biggest cryptocurrency as investors diversify their exposure.

"Surging DeFi volumes continue to push ethereum prices higher as investors gain confidence in crypto and see ethereum as a safe second-place asset," said Jehan Chu, managing partner at Hong Kong blockchain venture capital firm Kenetic Capital.

Illustrating the momentum for such new transactions, Bloomberg reported last week that the European Investment Bank plans on issuing a digital bond over the Ethereum blockchain, while JP Morgan plans a managed bitcoin fund. read more

Bitcoin , the world's biggest crypto asset with more than $1 trillion in market capitalization, regained the $50,000 mark last week and hovered around $58,000 on Monday, up about 3% but well below its record high at $64,895.22.



Apple Plans Texas Factory for AI Servers, 20,000 Research Jobs

An Apple logo is pictured in an Apple store in Paris, France September 17, 2021. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo
An Apple logo is pictured in an Apple store in Paris, France September 17, 2021. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo
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Apple Plans Texas Factory for AI Servers, 20,000 Research Jobs

An Apple logo is pictured in an Apple store in Paris, France September 17, 2021. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo
An Apple logo is pictured in an Apple store in Paris, France September 17, 2021. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo

Apple on Monday said it plans to help bring online a quarter-million-square-foot factory in Texas by 2026 to build artificial intelligence servers and will add about 20,000 research and development jobs across the US.

Apple said that it plans to spend $500 billion in the United States over the next four years, though that figure includes everything from purchases from US suppliers to US filming of television shows and movies for its Apple TV+ service. The company declined to say how much of the figure it was already planning to spend with its existing US supply base, which includes firms such as Corning, which makes glass for iPhones in Kentucky.

The move comes after media reports that Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook met with President Donald Trump last week. Many of Apple's products that are assembled in China could face 10% tariffs imposed by Trump earlier this month, though the iPhone maker previously secured some waivers from China tariffs during the first Trump administration, Reuters reported.

Apple made a similar announcement about its US spending plans during the first Trump administration, at that time saying it planned $350 billion over five years.

Most of Apple's consumer products are assembled outside the US, though many of Apple components are still made there, including chips from Broadcom, SkyWorks Solutions and Qorovo. Apple also said that it last month started mass producing chips of its own design at an Arizona factory owned Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC).

Bringing TSMC to Arizona and helping introduce legislation that later became the CHIPS Act to bolster US semiconductor production were two of Trump's biggest industrial policy moves during his first term.

Apple said on Monday that it will work with Hon Hai Precision Industry's Foxconn to build a 250,000-squre-foot facility in Houston, where it will assemble servers that go into data centers to power Apple Intelligence, its suite of AI features that help draft emails and perform other tasks. Those servers are currently made outside of the US, Apple said.

Apple also said it plans to increase its Advanced Manufacturing Fund from $5 billion to $10 billion, with part of the expansion being a "multibillion-dollar commitment from Apple to produce advanced silicon" at TSMC's Arizona factory. Apple did not disclose details of its deal with TSMC, but it has in the past used the fund to help partners build out the infrastructure needed to deliver products or services for Apple.

Apple will also open a manufacturing academy in Michigan where its engineers, along with local university staff, will offer free courses for small and mid-sized manufacturing firms in areas such as project management and manufacturing process optimization.