The price of Ethereum (ETH) reached $4,000 for the first time since 2021
For the first time since December 2021, the price of Ether (ETH) increased by $4,000.
According to data from CoinMarketCap, Ether rose to a price of $3,873 on March 8, up more than 4% and more than 74% in the last 24 hours.
Ether's price performance appears to have been boosted by Ethereum's upcoming Denkun update and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission's approval of a spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF).
ETH continued its rally on March 8, as other top cryptocurrencies turned on the greed and Bitcoin (BTC) regained $68,000. As the community waits for the Ethereum network's Denko update, Ether stands on its way and steadily marches towards the expected psychological level of $4,000.
The Dankun update, the most significant improvement to the Ethereum network since the merger, aims to implement several Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs), including EIP-4844, which introduces “proto-danksharding”.
Proto-danksharding is a feature that allows the blockchain to use blobs, thereby storing some data from the blockchain, simplifying the transaction process, speeding up transactions and cutting costs for Lab-2 chains and Ethereum-based packages.
Ethereum developers went live on the Denkun mainnet on March 13th.
Another factor driving ETH's price performance is the expectation that the SEC will approve one of the many spot Ether ETF applications that have preceded it.
Related: Bitcoin Price Hits New All-Time High
Although the regulator has delayed the decision on the spot Ethereum ETF applications from BlackRock and Fidelity, market participants hope that one will be approved soon. The financial watchdog is expected to issue a ruling on ether ETF applications everywhere, as it did with the Bitcoin ETF on January 10, so as not to give one issuer an advantage over others. The legal deadline for the SEC to allow or ban Ether ETFs is set for May 23rd.
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seifert believes it won't take as long for the SEC to process Ether ETF applications as it did with Bitcoin ETFs. May 23 is “the only day that matters” when it comes to the Ether ETF, according to Seifert, who posted on X on Feb. 7.
Building on the success of the spot Bitcoin ETF since its launch on January 11, a spot ether ETF product is expected to do the same, allowing more capital to flow into the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
According to Siddharth Lalwani, co-founder and CEO of Range Protocol, institutional investors can further increase their Ether exposure. He told Cointelegraph.
“Once Bitcoin's focus shifts to ETH ETF potential, liquidity will return and strengthen significantly, leading to price rallies from a macro perspective. All in all, it's safe to say that institutional investors won't be holding large positions in Ether for much longer.”
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and business activity involves risk, and readers should do their own research when making a decision.
