Ether overshadowed Bitcoin in part on speculation that the next wave of US spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) will focus on the second-largest cryptocurrency.
Since the beginning of the year, the price of Ether is up 30% compared to 22% for Bitcoin – a reversal from 2023, when the largest digital token by market capitalization was in the lead.
Today, both crypto coins are in the green. Ether added 0.4% over the past 24 hours to 2,960 USD, near its highest level since April 2022, and bitcoin added 0.1% to 51,757 USD.
Cautious US regulators approved the launch of the first spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds in January after repeated delays. So far, the group of 10 instruments have attracted net inflows of 5.2 billion USD since they went live on February 11. And while some cryptofans see the funds as a precedent that sets the stage for ether ETFs, others are expecting another round of legal woes.
Ether is the main cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain – perhaps one of the most key commercial ecosystems in the crypto sector. Investors have the opportunity to receive rewards by providing their ethers to operate the system’s digital “ledger”, a process called staking. The share of “staked” Ether has reached an absolute peak of 25%, according to data from Validator Queue, which reduces supply and creates conditions for rising prices.
