The world’s second most popular cryptocurrency, Ethereum, has eased lower on Friday after touching a record high of $1,941 during the previous session, supported by rising institutional interest and the recent Bitcoin rally. At the time of writing, ETH is trading around $1,920.

Last week, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange launched the trading of Ethereum futures – a move that could bring in more institutional investors to accept this digital currency. Ethereum has also benefitted from a recent rise in the adoption of Bitcoin among businesses. From Elon Musk’s Tesla to Mastercard and BNY Mellon, the acceptance of Bitcoin as a legitimate payment method or investment has boosted the overall appeal of cryptocurrencies.

There has been increased interest in Ethereum due to the growing popularity of DeFi, whose total value locked exceeds $4 billion as on date – growing by more than twice since the beginning of 2021. Analysts forecast Ether’s value to rise to $2,000 in the coming sessions despite some choppy trading in the short-term – a positive sign that points to increased acceptance of the DApps and the overall DeFi space.