Ether Rallies to $3.6K as Bitcoin Holds Steady at $71K

Based on information from CoinDesk Indices, ether’s price reached a peak of $3600, but bitcoin remained unchanged near $71,000.

The CoinDesk Index of the 20 most-traded digital currencies, which currently stands at around 2,600, experienced a 3.5% increase. Meanwhile, tokens from decentralized liquid staking platforms Lido DAO and Rocket Pool saw significant gains, with a surge of 10% for Lido DAO and an 8% rise for Rocket Pool, based on data from CoinGecko.

Ethena’s USDe synthetic stablecoin recently added bitcoin as collateral, CoinDesk reported.

It’s possible that this rally is solely driven by speculation based on the anticipation of an Ether ETF approval, rather than a realistic expectation that it will happen soon.

On Polymarket, those placing wagers estimate a 16% probability that the Ether ETF will secure approval in the U.S. by May’s end. The likelihood of this happening by the close of June is assessed at approximately 45%.

A few traders had anticipated Bitcoin’s dominance following the recent dip in the ether-bitcoin ratio’s crucial support level. Consequently, Ether’s unexpected surge has triggered swift modifications in market strategies, causing a marked increase in the fees associated with maintaining long or short positions, as noted by QCP Capital in their Telegram message. The price swings have further resulted in a substantial reduction of short bets on Ether’s future price increase.