As one of the top three cryptocurrencies, Ethereum skyrocketed in 2021, with its price and market cap reaching record highs, despite the crypto price crashes in May and September.

According to data presented by MejoresApuestas.com, the Ethereum market cap soared by more than 400% YTD and hit $425bn this week, which is almost five times the growth rate of Bitcoin in this period.

Market Cap 12% Below All-Time High in May

Since the start of the cryptocurrency phenomenon, Ethereum and Bitcoin have been the most popular digital coins in the crypto space. However, unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum's market cap soared in 2021.

The CoinMarketCap data showed the combined value of all ETH coins surged by 490% in the five months of 2021, rising from around $84bn in January to an all-time high of $497bn in May. However, after the crypto price crash, this figure halved in just three weeks, falling to $222bn in the third week of May.

After dynamic June and July, the price of the world's second-largest digital coin started rising again in August, driving its market cap to $392bn by the end of that month. Since then, the combined value of all Ethereum coins jumped by around $33bn and hit $425bn on October 11, which is only 12% less than the record market cap in May. Also, the CoinMarketCap data showed, Ethereum was the third most-traded crypto in September, with a monthly trading volume of $750bn, up from $393bn a month before.

In comparison, the market cap of the world's most expensive cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, jumped by 95% year-to-date, while Tether saw a 224% growth in this period. Statistics show Binance Coin and Cardano were the only two among the top five cryptos witnessing a four-digit growth this year, with their market caps surging by 1,310% and 1,141% YTD, respectively.

Ethereum Price Quadrupled in 2021

Ethereum was released on July 30, 2015, and priced at $0.75. By the end of July next year, its price surged by 1,500%, already making him a successful investment.

Three years later, in January 2018, Ethereum price soared to $1,396. After a deep price fall in the following months and throughout 2019, ETH price recovered in 2020, as the entire crypto market boomed amid the COVID-19 crisis. Statistics show that between January and December 2020, ETH price surged by 411%, rising from $144 to $737.

However, after an outstanding performance throughout the last year, the price of the world's second-largest crypto exploded in five months of 2021. Between January and March, it soared by nearly 150% to over $1,800 and continued rising. On May 12, it hit an all-time high of $4,297 and then plunged in June and July after the crypto price crash.

After a recovery in August, the world's leading digital coins all witnessed significant price drops last month, following a ban on cryptocurrency transactions and mining from China's central bank, which declared all cryptos illegal in the country.

However, statistics show ETH's price significantly recovered since the beginning of October, reaching around $3,500 this week, which is four times its valuation from January.