Ethereum Outpaces Bitcoin With 8% Surge Fueled By US ETF Approval Rumors

Ethereum ETH/USD, the world’s second-largest digital asset, has experienced an 8% surge in the last 24 hours, outperforming Bitcoin BTC/USD.

What Happened: This sudden increase is believed to be connected to rumors about the possible approval of U.S. exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for the cryptocurrency, reported Bloomberg.

“There’s been some chatter about Ether ETF issuers meeting with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission,” said Edward Chin, co-founder of digital-asset hedge fund Parataxis Capital.

Investment powerhouses such as BlackRock Inc. and Fidelity Investments have lodged applications to initiate Ether ETFs. However, the regulator’s approval of these applications remains uncertain.

James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas, Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analysts, predict a 75% likelihood that the SEC will deny Ether applications by May. They refer to data that indicates relatively weak correlations between spot and futures markets.

Price Action: At the time of writing this article, Ether is currently trading at $3,690.58, marking a 7.57% increase over the last 24 hours, while Bitcoin surged 1.72%  in the same time period. Moreover, the price has surged by 10.74% over the past 5 days, according to the data from Benzinga Pro.

See Also: Benzinga Bulls And Bears: Tesla, Apple, Meta And A 2013 Bitcoin Supporter Now Says ‘Yes’ To Shiba Inu

Why It Matters: The recent surge in Ether’s value comes after a period of uncertainty in the cryptocurrency market. Earlier this month, both Bitcoin and Ethereum fell below key support levels, hinting at a potential shift in market sentiment.

Despite this, optimism about the approval of Ether ETFs has been growing. Digital Finance Group CEO James Wo stated there was a “high likelihood” of such approval. This sentiment was echoed by JPMorgan, which remains hopeful about the SEC’s eventual approval of spot Ethereum ETFs.

The speculation surrounding Ether ETFs has also led to a surge in the Bitcoin-Ether ratio, a key indicator in the cryptocurrency market, signaling caution amid the ongoing crypto rally.

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