While all eyes seem to be on Bitcoin price and the rejection of the Bitcoin ETF - as well as its continuing scaling/UASF issue - something new is going on in other camps especially its closest network, Ethereum, which has just reached an all-time high rate of $30.

Since the Ethereum price take-off on Thursday, March 9, the Ethereum network market cap has risen by almost $1 bln - from $1.46 to $2.44 bln - as at the time of writing, according to CoinMarketCap. More importantly is the swelling 24-hour volume which has since reached over $135 mln compared to less than $45 mln in previous days. These are heights it has never reached before.

Though the rise could be easily hinged on the Bitcoin saga which has seen the price of the world’s top digital currency rise and fall in the last couple days, Ether’s spike, which is somewhat higher than other currencies like Dash and Monero, could also be linked to developments that have been waiting to manifest their impact in the market.

Ethereum Alliance

For some time, Ethereum has been touted to generate revenue streams through partnerships with corporate or government agencies that are looking to utilize the Blockchain technology. One of such is the recent move by Microsoft, JPMorgan Chase and other corporate giants who have joined forces to create the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance. The EEA sets out to create a standard version of the Ethereum software that businesses around the world can use to track data and financial contracts.

Though the coming together of the 30 companies is a nonprofit initiative, the fact that it forms a part of a broader movement to harness the technological concept of the Blockchain technology is a key factor that could have worked in the interest of Ethereum.

Note that the network has always tended to work with corporate organizations. Gaining their trust, especially after last year’s DAO theft, is paramount to Ethereum for its underlying objectives to be achieved.

Its premise to deliver a greater level of transparency and reduce transaction costs has always been attractive to organizations such as the Federal Reserve, international governments and publicly traded financial institutions that have at some point showed their interest in Blockchain-based applications.

This knowledge that Ethereum will generate a lot of transactions will definitely cause many customers to buy huge amounts of Ether for this purpose (or mine it which is for now quite unlikely).

However, whether this trend has now started is still under question.