After months of trading sideways, the price of cryptocurrency Ethereum (ETH) has finally risen above $4,000 U.S. as demand from retail investors intensifies.
Ethereum climbed above the $4,000 U.S. threshold on Dec. 7. It was the first time the second largest crypto had been above that level since March of this year.
Ethereum rose as high as $4,100 U.S. before pulling back to trade at $3,860 U.S. The crypto’s all-time high is $4,878 U.S., reached in 2021 during the last bull market for digital assets.
Ethereum’s market capitalization is approaching $500 billion U.S., with its daily trading volume increasing 21% in a single day on Dec. 7 to $24.5 billion U.S.
Ethereum’s price surge comes after investors accumulated more than $1 billion U.S. worth of the cryptocurrency over the past week, according to market data.
Investors are acquiring Ethereum at a rapid rate alongside Bitcoin (BTC), whose price has breached the key threshold of $100,000 U.S. in recent days.
Retail investors have been piling into cryptocurrencies at a fast clip on expectations that U.S. president-elect Donald Trump will enact friendly policies towards digital coins and tokens.
Ethereum’s current rise has also been sparked by record inflows into spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track the price movements of ETH.
The current rise in Ethereum’s price markets a sharp reversal after the cryptocurrency largely traded sideways or slumped in the past six months.
For most of the summer and autumn, Ethereum’s price had traded around $2,500 U.S.
