Ethereum Bulls Charge Toward $4K After Spot ETF Approvals

The price of Ethereum's native cryptocurrency Ether (ETH) has been on a remarkable upswing over the past couple of weeks, rallying over 35% to come within striking distance of the $4,000 level. This bullish momentum has been primarily driven by the recent approvals of spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

On May 23rd, the SEC greenlit eight different applications for Ether-based spot ETFs, paving the way for these investment vehicles to be launched and traded on regulated U.S. exchanges. The news sent shockwaves through the crypto markets, with Ether's price soaring from around $3,000 to nearly $4,000 within just a few days.

Whales Load Up on Ether

The prospect of institutional money flowing into the newly approved ETFs has crypto whales and large investors scrambling to accumulate Ether in anticipation of further price gains. On-chain data from Santiment reveals that the top 1,000 Ethereum wallets have collectively purchased over 510,000 ETH (worth around $1.95 billion at current prices) in the five days following the SEC's ETF approval decision.

This aggressive buying spree by whales suggests a strong belief that the launch of Ether ETFs will bring a significant influx of capital from institutional investors into the Ethereum ecosystem, driving prices even higher.

In the last 7 days, ether has reported a 5.40% indicating the current continued price surges. Since the approval of ETFs, Ether prices have been in a continued rise building a positive momentum. 

Source: Trading View

Bullish Sentiment Among Analysts

Cryptocurrency analysts and traders have been overwhelmingly bullish on Ether's prospects following the ETF approvals. Prominent analyst Jelle declared that Ether has completed a long accumulation period and is now poised to enter a "bull market stratosphere" thanks to the impending ETF launches.

Michaël van de Poppe, the founder of MN Capital, pointed to a bullish divergence in the weekly ETH/BTC chart as evidence that capital is rotating from Bitcoin into altcoins like Ether, signaling the end of the prolonged crypto winter.

"The chances are significant that the 2.5-year bear market is finally over for Ethereum," van de Poppe stated.

Potential for Further Upside

While the initial excitement over the ETF approvals has already propelled Ether's price higher, many analysts believe the real fireworks are yet to come once the ETFs start trading and institutional money starts pouring in.

Simon Peters, an analyst at eToro, suggested that savvy crypto investors may use the interim period between the approvals and the actual ETF launches to "front-run" the ETFs by buying Ether in anticipation of the expected inflows.

Comparing the potential impact to the launch of Bitcoin ETFs earlier this year, Peters speculated that Ether ETFs could see inflows of 15-30% of what the Bitcoin ETFs attracted – a staggering amount given that Bitcoin ETFs have already accumulated over $58 billion in assets under management.

Targets of $5,000 and Beyond

With such optimism surrounding the Ether ETFs and the potential for billions of dollars in institutional investment, some analysts are setting their sights on even loftier price targets for Ether. FX Empire's Ibrahim Ajibade forecasts that if Ether can breach the $4,200 resistance level, a "parabolic price breakout" toward new all-time highs above $5,000 could be on the cards in June.

The approval of spot Ether ETFs has undoubtedly injected a new wave of bullish sentiment into the Ethereum markets, with traders and investors positioning themselves for what could be a sustained rally fueled by institutional capital inflows. As the ETFs gear up for their official launches, all eyes will be on Ether's price action and the potential for it to smash through previous resistance levels and establish new record highs.