Ethereum’s native token surged to ,000 on February 20th, marking a significant milestone and reflecting a week of positive momentum in the cryptocurrency market in 2024. This price level had not been seen since April 2022, indicating renewed bullish sentiment towards Ethereum (ETH) as well as the broader blockchain industry. According to CoinMarketCap, ETH experienced a growth of over 2% in the past 24 hours and more than 13% over the last seven days.
With a market cap now exceeding 5 million, Ethereum’s market share accounts for just over 18% of the total cryptocurrency market. Year-to-date, ETH has seen a 30% increase in value. The rise of Ethereum coincides with the upward trajectory of Bitcoin (BTC) and the overall cryptocurrency landscape. The recent surge in demand for Bitcoin follows the approval of spot BTC ETFs by the U.S. SEC, allowing them to trade on major national exchanges like NASDAQ and CBOE.
Market analysts attribute the growing interest in cryptocurrencies to the introduction of spot Bitcoin ETFs, which have catalyzed a broader appeal for digital assets. Data from TradingView confirms a nearly 20% expansion in the cryptocurrency market cap within the first two months of the year.
Industry reports indicate a growing trend towards Ethereum-based ETFs, with issuers such as ARK 21Shares and Invesco Galaxy seeking approval to list spot Ethereum ETFs on U.S. exchanges. While the SEC has historically been hesitant to approve spot-based crypto products, a recent court ruling in the Grayscale case has opened the door for such offerings.
Despite differing views within the SEC, there is optimism that Ethereum ETFs tracking spot ETH prices could receive regulatory approval in the second quarter of 2024. The SEC’s decision on spot Ethereum ETFs has been postponed until May, coinciding with the imminent deployment of Dencun on the Ethereum mainnet by the end of March.
Dencun is set to introduce proto-danksharding, a technical update aimed at enhancing data availability for layer-2 rollups. This solution is expected to reduce gas fees and improve transaction efficiency within Ethereum’s ecosystem, potentially making it more accessible and cost-effective for users.