The price of Ether, the cryptocurrency with the third biggest market cap after Bitcoin, saw a massive spike late Monday, boosting the price of other major crypto tokens as moves by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission raised speculation that Ether exchange-traded funds may be in line for regulatory approval soon.
Ether, the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain, rose to $3,650 early on Tuesday, up more than 17.5% over the past 24 hours.
Bitcoin, the world’s most valuable crypto token, briefly crossed the $71,000 threshold before settling at around $70,880—up more than 6.1% from the previous day.
Other popular tokens like Dogecoin and Binance’s BNB were also up 8.5% and 7% respectively.
The boost in Ether and other crypto prices comes amid speculation that Ether exchange-traded funds may soon receive regulatory approval. The SEC has reportedly asked exchanges looking to list Ether ETFs to update or refile regulatory documents called Form 19b-4. Those filings are usually made to request the SEC amend its rules to allow a new type of exchange-traded fund. Citing unnamed sources, CoinDesk reported the SEC sought these filings to be made on “an accelerated basis” and the regulator may approve these applications by Thursday.
Surprising Fact
Bloomberg analysts James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas raised their odds of a spot Ether ETF approval to 75% on Monday—up from an earlier 25%. In a post on X, Balchunas wrote he had heard “chatter this afternoon the SEC could be doing a 180 on this (increasingly political issue).”
Big Number
61%. That’s the increase in Bitcoin’s value since the start of this year—driven largely by the SEC’s approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs.
