Ethereum Hits Two-Year High Surpassing $3,000

On Tuesday, February 20, 2024, ethereum experienced a notable surge in value, reaching a two-year high by crossing the $3,000 threshold. The crypto asset’s price peaked at $3,014 in the morning before slightly retracting to $3,003 at time of writing. This recent upswing has propelled ethereum’s market capitalization to $360.20 billion, making it the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. Over the past week, ethereum has enjoyed a 14% increase in value against the U.S. dollar according to CoinMarketCap data.

The entire crypto economy is currently valued at $1.98 trillion, with ethereum’s market cap representing 18.2% of this total. Ethereum’s strong performance can be attributed to the anticipation of two major developments: the potential approval of a spot ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) and the upcoming Dencun upgrade.

The crypto community is hopeful that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which has already approved several spot BTC ETFs, will also approve an ethereum-based ETF. However, the SEC has not yet officially commented on ethereum’s status as a security.

Scheduled for mid-March at slot 8626176, the Dencun upgrade is expected to bring substantial improvements to the Ethereum network. This includes the introduction of proto-danksharding and fee reductions, which are aimed at enhancing network performance, reducing transaction costs, and improving interoperability within Ethereum’s multi-layered ecosystem.

Earlier this week, widely followed crypto analyst, Michaël van de Poppe had said to believe that “the momentum is going to switch toward Ether.”

Ethereum’s NFT market is also on an upward trajectory, having recently set a sales record.