Ethereum (ETH) Surges to $4,000, Reaching New Highs in 2021

The price of Ether (ETH) has surpassed $4,000 for the first time since December 2021. This represents a significant increase from its price of $3,873 on March 8. In the past 24 hours, Ether has risen by more than 4%, and it has seen a year-to-date increase of 74%. The price reached a 27-month high of $4,003 on Bitstamp, according to data from CoinMarketCap. The price surge is believed to be driven by the upcoming Dencun upgrade for the Ethereum network and the potential approval of a spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

While other top cryptocurrencies showed signs of greed, Ether continued its upward trend. Bitcoin also reclaimed the $68,000 level. Ether has been steadily marching towards the $4,000 psychological level, with anticipation building for the Dencun upgrade. This upgrade, which is the most significant improvement to the Ethereum network since the Merge, will implement various Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs). One of these proposals, EIP-4844, introduces a feature called “proto-danksharding.” This feature allows the blockchain to use blobs, simplifying the transaction process and speeding up transactions for layer-2 chains and rollups that rely on Ethereum.

The Dencun mainnet is set to go live on March 13, which has further fueled the positive sentiment around Ether. The expectation of the SEC approving a spot Ether ETF is boosting Ether’s price performance. While the regulator has delayed its decision on spot Ethereum ETF applications from BlackRock and Fidelity, there is hope that approval will come soon. The SEC is expected to make a decision on all the applications on the same day, similar to how it handled Bitcoin ETFs on January 10.

The SEC has until May 23 to allow or deny an Ether ETF. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart believes that the SEC will process Ether ETF applications more quickly than it did with Bitcoin ETFs. He considers May 23 to be the crucial date for Ether ETFs. If a spot Ether ETF is approved, it is anticipated to attract more capital to the cryptocurrency and increase institutional investors’ exposure to Ether. As attention shifts away from Bitcoin’s recent all-time high, Siddharth Lalwani, the co-founder and CEO of Range Protocol, predicts that liquidity will consolidate at high levels, leading to price rallies for Ether. It is expected that institutional investors will soon increase their positions in Ether.