After the sensational year for the bitcoin in 2017, Ethereum has maintainethe steam and the same has been rising for the year 2018.
The recent surge in Ether price and the market valuation of the Ethereum Blockchain network can be largely attributed to two main factors: the abrupt surge in the value of Ripple (XRP) and the rising user activity of decentralized applications.
In late December of 2017, Ripple overtook Ethereum for the first time in history, becoming the third alternative cryptocurrency with the exception of Ether and Bitcoin Cash to become the second largest cryptocurrency in the global market behind Bitcoin.