Ethereum, a digital currency similar to bitcoin, hit a new record high Wednesday at $1,417.38, climbing more than 60 percent in one week, according to CNBC.
While ethereum, also called ether, is backed by the same technology as bitcoin, it is not designed for peer-to-peer exchanges but rather smart contracts. Some larger companies are experimenting with it, CNBC reports.
Some of ether's developers have suggested the price of the digital coin could "easily" double or triple by the end of the year. However, others — including ether co-founder Charles Hoskinson — predict the cryptocurrency market will experience a crash, followed by consolidation.
"What's going to occur is a lot of these ventures that don't have strong fundamentals, don't have good tech, or just unrealistic projects, they will eventually run into some major wall they can't quite overcome. They will fracture up and you will see a lot of them are certain to fail," Mr. Hoskinson told CNBC separately.
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