Ether Hits $3K for First Time in Nearly 2 Years Amid Rising ETH ETF Excitement

The price of ether (ETH), the native token to the Ethereum network, rose past $3,000 for the first time since April 2022 on Tuesday, continuing a recent hot streak.

Ether’s price rose about 1.6% over the past 24 hours and has risen over 12% in the past week, outpacing other cryptocurrencies, according to data from CoinGecko.

Bitcoin’s price was on the move as well, ahead more than 2% over the past 24 hours and nearing $53,000.

The broader CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) was ahead 0.65% over the same time frame.

Cryptocurrencies at large have had a green 2024 so far, with major tokens’ prices well above where they were in 2023. ETH surged nearly 30% since the beginning of the year, outperforming BTC’s 22% advance.

ETH’s rally could continue, with traders targeting $3,500 as the next resistance level as market participants anticipate that spot-based ETH exchange-traded funds (ETF) could be next in line for U.S. regulatory approval.

“We are very close in this move to levels around $3,150-$3,300,” said Kenny Hearn, SwissOne Capital’s chief investment officer, in an interview with CoinDesk. “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.”

A potential approval would boost ETH’s appeal among more conservative, institutional investors, just as the new bitcoin ETFs that debuted last month have attracted massive allocations.

Bernstein, a broker, said Monday that there is about a 50% chance of a spot ETH ETF approval by May and a near-certain probability of approval within the next 12 months.