The possibility of Ethereum ETF approval boosts ETH's upward momentum

NAIROBI (CoinChapter.com) — Ethereum has surpassed payments giant Mastercard with a market cap of $440 billion, compared to Mastercard’s $427 billion. The milestone comes after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) made a notable change of heart in its approval of a spot Ethereum ETF application.

The SEC’s unexpected change of attitude towards ETH ETF approval

The surge in Ethereum's market capitalization is attributed to the sudden increase in the probability of the SEC approving a spot Ethereum ETF. Bloomberg analysts, who previously put the probability of approval at 25%, have revised their prediction to 75%. The change comes after reports that the SEC quickly changed its stance on Ethereum ETFs, prompting exchanges to quickly update their filings. Bloomberg's senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted that the SEC's request for exchanges to update their 19b-4 filings could pave the way for the approval of an Ethereum ETF, which could be as early as Wednesday.

Alex Thorne, head of research at Galaxy Digital, revealed the SEC’s potential approach to Ethereum and collateralized ETH. He believes that the SEC may consider Ethereum as a non-security while considering collateralized ETH as a security.

In addition, the potential approval of the Ethereum ETF has attracted widespread attention from the cryptocurrency community and the traditional financial community. Although people are looking forward to the SEC's decision, it is still necessary to be cautious about speculation and rely on official announcements and hard evidence.

Market reaction and ETH price increase

Ethereum’s surge in market capitalization has been accompanied by significant price increases. Over the past week, the price of Ethereum has surged to $3,775.43. According to Coingecko, this represents a 21.99% gain in 24 hours. This surge in value has pushed Ethereum’s market capitalization to $453 billion, solidifying its position as the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. This price action has coincided with a highly active period of buying activity, reflected in the cryptocurrency market’s “greed index,” which currently stands at 70.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin has also experienced a significant uptrend. Its price reached $71,112.64, up 6.111tpt3t in the past 24 hours. Bitcoin's market capitalization is now around $1.4 trillion, highlighting its market dominance. The buying volume in the past day increased to $55 billion, reflecting the growing confidence and bullish sentiment of investors in the cryptocurrency market.

Most importantly, this swift market reaction highlights the impact that regulatory decisions have on cryptocurrency prices and investor sentiment. Indeed, the potential approval of an Ethereum ETF could further solidify its position in the financial markets. This could attract more institutional investors and drive further market growth.