Ether’s price is nearing the $4,000 mark, climbing 5% over the past 24 hours and sparking hopes for a post-ETF approval surge. During early trading on May 27, ETH hit an intra-day high of $3,930, according to Cointelegraph data, echoing similar price levels reached after spot Ether ETFs were approved on May 23.
Recent Performance
This surge has led to a 27.5% gain over the past week for ETH, outpacing Bitcoin’s 3.8% increase in the same period. Analyst Matthew Hyland, with 143,000 followers on X, noted that ETH confirmed a bullish divergence and broke its downtrend with increased volume, validating the breakout.
Market Predictions
The significant weekly rise has triggered various predictions from industry analysts. On May 26, DeFiance Capital founder Arthur Cheong forecasted that ETH would hit $4,500 before spot ETFs launch. In a May 25 poll on X, nearly half of 5,800 respondents had allocated between zero and 25% of their portfolios to ETH. Cheong remarked on the underallocation of ETH among crypto enthusiasts.
Speculations and Historical Comparisons
Ethereum educator Anthony Sassano predicted that MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor might buy ETH within six to twelve months. Historically, Bitcoin prices surged over 70% to an all-time high within two months of the spot BTC ETF approvals in the U.S. If ETH follows a similar pattern, it could reach around $6,000 by the end of July.
Impact on DeFi and Layer-2 Networks
Ether’s substantial movement has also influenced the broader crypto ecosystem. The total value locked in decentralized finance (DeFi) has returned to a two-year high of $117 billion, with 60% locked on the Ethereum network, as reported by DefiLlama. Additionally, Ethereum layer-2 networks are nearing a collective all-time high in total value locked, reaching approximately $47 billion, according to L2beat.