Ether’s price breached the £3,000 mark on February 20th for the first time since April 2022.
From a value of £2,881 on February 19th, Ether surged over 4% in the past 24 hours and 74% over the last year, reaching a year-to-date peak at £3,000.97 on Binance at 13:45 UTC, as per CoinMarketCap data.
The surge in Ether’s price coincides with anticipation surrounding the potential approval of a spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the upcoming implementation of Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 4844 through the Dencun upgrade.
According to current odds from Polymarket, there’s a 45% likelihood of the SEC approving a spot Ether ETF by May 31st.
Bernstein, a wealth management firm, recently suggested that ETH might be the only other cryptocurrency to secure an ETF spot in the United States.
“Ethereum with its staking yield dynamics, environmentally friendly design, and institutional utility to build new financial markets, is well positioned for mainstream institutional adoption,” analysts Gautam Chhugani and Mahika Sapra reportedly wrote in a note on Feb. 19.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas forecasts a 70% chance of approval, suggesting a positive outlook for Ether ETFs amid regulatory delays.
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The last time Ether exceeded £3,000 was almost 22 months ago, on May 4, 2022, when it hit a high of £2,966 before entering a prolonged bear market that saw its price plummet to £883 in June 2022.
ETH’s recent surge may also be linked to the much-anticipated Dencun upgrade of the network.
The Dencun upgrade, scheduled for March 13, is expected to incorporate several EIPs, including EIP-4844, which introduces proto-danksharding.
This upgrade streamlines the transaction process by storing some data off the blockchain, thereby accelerating transactions and reducing costs.
Data from CoinGlass indicates a growing open interest (OI) in Ether futures markets, reaching a record £10.19 billion, affirming the current volatility in ETH’s price.
Many market participants anticipate the recent bullish momentum to persist amidst any developments regarding the approval of a spot Ether ETF and potential movements in the broader cryptocurrency market.
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