Bitcoin may have more than doubled this year, but rival Ethereum is up 2,000%. Here's why

While bitcoin has been getting support from certain governments and investors, the Ethereum blockchain has been backed by corporates wishing to use the technology for smart contract applications.

A group called the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA) was recently founded to connect large companies to technology vendors in order to work on projects using the blockchain. Companies involved in the launch include JPMorgan, Microsoft and Intel.

On Tuesday, the EEA announced another 86 firms joined the alliance, which is adding growing legitimacy to the cryptocurrency.

At the same time, the rally in bitcoin has seen investors turn to alternative digital currencies as well as attracting a broader investment base. A year ago, over 83 percent of ether buying happened with bitcoin, according to data from CryptoCompare, showing that it was mainly crytocurrency enthusiasts interested in it. As of Wednesday, bitcoin accounted for just over 32 percent of trade while fiat currencies such as the U.S. dollar and Korean won have risen sharply.

“Yes the direct fiat flow options are a fleshing out of the ethereum ecosystem and show its broad appeal,” Charles Hayter, CEO of CryptoCompare, told CNBC by email.