As to CoinMarketCap data, ether reached a year-to-date high on Binance at 13:45 UTC, having surged more than 4% in the last 24 hours and 74% over the last 12 months, from a price of $2,881 on February 19.
The market is anticipating the potential approval of an Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as well as the Dencun upgrade’s implementation of the EIP-4844. This is why ether’s price performance is occurring at this time.
Polymarket’s current chances suggest that a spot Ethereum clearance by May 31 has a 45% chance of happening.
According to recent suggestions made by the wealth management firm Bernstein, Ether might be the only cryptocurrency to be approved for inclusion in an ETF in the US.
Analysts Gautam Chhugani and Mahika Sapra allegedly said in a letter on February 19 that Ethereum, “with its staking yield dynamics, environmentally friendly design, and institutional utility to build new financial markets, is well positioned for mainstream institutional adoption.”
Despite the regulatory delays, Eric Balchunas of Bloomberg projects a 70% chance of approval, indicating a promising future for Ethereum ETFs.
Prior to plunging into a protracted bear market that saw its price drop to $883 in June 2022, Ether last traded above $3,000 on May 4, 2022, some 22 months ago. At that time, it had reached a high of $2,966.
The recent performance of ETH might possibly be related to the impending Dencun upgrade, which is much awaited on the network.
Proto-danksharding is one of the Ethereum improvement proposals (EIPs) that will be implemented by Ethereum’s Dencun update, scheduled for March 13. Through faster transaction times and cost savings, the upgrade streamlines the transaction process by storing part of the data off the blockchain.
The open interest (OI) in the Ethereum futures market is rising and has reached a record $10.19 billion, according to data from Coinglass. This confirms the present price volatility of ETH.
Many market players anticipate that any news regarding the approval of a spot Ethereum ETF and a potential shift in the larger crypto market would not deter the current wave of bullish price activity.
