Ether (ETH), the native token of the Ethereum network, surged past $3,000 for the first time since April 2022 on Tuesday, extending its recent positive trend. In the past 24 hours, Ether’s price increased by about 1.6%, and it has seen a rise of over 12% in the past week, surpassing the performance of other cryptocurrencies, according to data from CoinGecko.
Bitcoin also experienced upward movement, with a gain of over 2% in the past 24 hours, approaching the $53,000 mark. The overall cryptocurrency market has seen a positive start to 2024, with major tokens displaying prices significantly higher than their 2023 levels. ETH has surged nearly 30% since the beginning of the year, outpacing BTC’s 22% increase.
Traders are eyeing a target of $3,500 as the next resistance level for ETH, anticipating that spot-based ETH exchange-traded funds (ETFs) could receive regulatory approval in the United States. Kenny Hearn, Chief Investment Officer at SwissOne Capital, mentioned, “We are very close in this move to levels around $3,150-$3,300. The next level after that would be $3,600, and we think this is quite easily attainable in the next month or so as the alts continue to play catch up.”
The potential approval of a spot ETH ETF could enhance ETH’s attractiveness to more conservative institutional investors, similar to the substantial allocations witnessed by the new bitcoin ETFs that recently debuted. On Monday, brokerage firm Bernstein stated a 50% chance of a spot ETH ETF approval by May, with a near-certain probability of approval within the next 12 months.
