Ether hits two-week high close to $2,400 as excitement builds over major ethereum network upgrades

• Ether rose to a two-week high of close to $2,400 on Sunday before paring its gains.
• The token was boosted by investor excitement about network upgrades, Coinbase analysts said.
• Cryptocurrency markets as a whole have rebounded somewhat after a sharp sell-off in May and June.

Ether rose to a two-week high on Sunday evening as the second-biggest cryptocurrency was boosted by upcoming network upgrades and a rebound in the crypto market as a whole.

The native cryptocurrency of the ethereum network rose as high as $2,392 on Sunday, its highest level since mid-June, according to CoinGecko data.

It then fell somewhat and traded at around $2,296 on Monday. Ether was around 900% higher than a year ago on Monday, but down more than 47% from its May record high of $4,357, CoinGecko data showed.

Analysts at Coinbase said the exchange - the biggest in the US - had seen a pick-up in interest in ether, relative to bitcoin, over the last week.

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The analysts said upcoming upgrades to the ethereum network were attracting buyers. "Sentiment remains positive with EIP-1559 being deployed on testnets ahead of its anticipated release in late July/early August," they said in a note.

EIP-1559 is an upgrade that will change the network so that ether coins start to be destroyed, limiting the supply and potentially boosting the price.

The upgrades are currently working their way through the ethereum system and are expected to come fully into force in the next two months.

The broader cryptocurrency market has shown resilience in the last couple of weeks after sharp falls in May.

Bitcoin fell below $30,000 in June, but it has rebounded over the last week to trade at around $34,520 as of Monday.

Coinbase's analysts said reports that George Soros' fund was trading bitcoin was one factor that may have boosted crypto markets.

Yet many analysts are concerned about regulatory crackdowns, which UBS has said could pop what it called the crypto bubble.