Ethereum (ETH-X) has rocketed through to a record high above $3,400 after a weekend of surging price moves as the cryptoasset continues to diverge from bitcoin (BITCOMP).

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The price has risen more than 25% so far this month, peaking at $3,423, and is currently trading just below that level at $3,350.

Ethereum has been moving in a sharp upwards trajectory since its latest hardfork as it continues to prove its use-case. The number of DApps (Decentralised Applications) continues to grow on the platform, and there is now growing demand from institutional investors for the ethereum cryptoasset itself.

Meanwhile bitcoin, the largest cryptoasset by market capitalisation, continues to tread water somewhat, holding around the $55,000 mark over the weekend.

European Investment Bank issues first ever digital bond

The European Investment Bank (EIB), the investment bank owned by the EU Member States, has announced the issuance of its first-ever digital bond built on a public blockchain. 

The bond was issued using Ethereum and the issuance saw $121 million of two-year bonds placed with key market investors.

The EIB, a not-for-profit organization and lending arm of the European Union,said it had worked on the digital bond project with Goldman Sachs, Santander, and Societe Generale. 

The EIB added that the Banque de France participated and said “the payment of the issue monies from the underwriters to the EIB has been represented on the blockchain in the form of CBDC.”

S&P launches three cryptoasset indices

S&P Dow Jones Indices has announced it has launched its first three cryptoasset indices covering bitcoin, ethereum and a combination of both.

The crypto indices, S&P’s first ever, carry ticker symbols SPBTC, SPETH and SPCMC – one for bitcoin, ether and a “MegaCap” combo of the two.

S&P said in a document that the indices are created and run using data from Lukka, a back office software provider which focuses on digital assets.

In an FAQ, S&P said it uses Lukka Prime’s “Fair Market Value Pricing” methodology to render an asset’s price in points, not dollars.

The products will compete against existing products from Bloomberg and Galaxy.

Cardano to be used across Ethiopian education system

Ethiopia’s Minister of Education has confirmed their government is working with IOHK, the company behind the development of Cardano, to use its blockchain to help track student performance in the African country’s schools.

The project is yet to begin but code is now being developed to make it a reality, with a launch to take place at some point after January 2022.

“This initiative is about bringing technology to improve the quality of education,” said the minister, Getahun Mekuria, in a video conversation with John O’Connor, IOHK’s director of African operations, which was live streamed by the company last week.

“It’s very practical to think of the blockchain technology [as a way] to improve the quality of education.”

Tesla sells bitcoin to “prove liquidity”

Elon Musk has revealed electric car giant Tesla (TSLA) sold 10% of its bitcoin holdings to demonstrate the token’s liquidity.

The company revealed last week in its earnings update that it had made $101 million in income in the first quarter by selling some of its $1bn position in bitcoin.

Amid questions about the motives behind this, Musk took to twitter to explain the move. In a tweet he said: “I have not sold any of my bitcoin. Tesla sold 10% of its holdings essentially to prove liquidity of bitcoin as an alternative to holding cash on balance sheet.”

Tesla was one of the first big names to add bitcoin to its balance sheet to be used as part of its treasury function.

Tesla’s Chief Financial Officer, Zachary Kirkhorn, said on the earnings call that the company believes in bitcoin’s long-term value.

JPMorgan to offer actively managed bitcoin fund to private clients

JPMorgan (JPM) is preparing to provide its clients with an actively managed bitcoin fund, according to reports.

Its new fund, launched in conjunction with specialist bitcoin asset management business NYDIG, will be available to the bank's private wealth clients, with the fund expected to launch this summer.

The actively managed element will differentiate the product from the growing number of trackers out there which already follow the price.

Nonetheless, the move is a major u-turn for the bank. In 2017, JPM's CEO, Jamie Dimon, said in a CNBC interview that “It’s worse than tulip bulbs. It won’t end well. Someone is going to get killed. It’s just not a real thing, eventually it will be closed.”