Ethereum (ETH) Breaks $4,000 Barrier for the First Time Since March
Ethereum’s native cryptocurrency, ether (ETH), surged past the $4,000 mark on Friday, marking the first time it has reached this level since March. The cryptocurrency’s price is currently $4,033, up 2.4% over the past 24 hours and 8.4% over the past week, outperforming bitcoin (BTC) in both short- and medium-term timeframes.
This bullish movement coincides with record inflows into spot ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on Thursday, further fueling market optimism. Ether now stands just 2% shy of setting a new high for 2024 and is approximately 20% below its all-time peak of $4,868.
The ETH/BTC ratio, which reflects ether’s performance relative to bitcoin, has rebounded to 0.04. This level last marked a temporary peak for ether in November 2022, following a prolonged decline since September of that year.
Adding to the momentum, the Coinbase premium on ether continues to widen. This premium, which signifies that ether is trading at a higher price on Coinbase compared to Binance, is often interpreted as a sign of heightened demand from U.S. institutional and retail investors. TradingView data highlights a slight increase in ether’s price on Coinbase relative to Binance, suggesting that U.S. market participants are driving the current rally. Notably, this uptick coincided with the opening of U.S. markets roughly an hour earlier.
On-chain metrics further underscore ether’s growing strength. Glassnode data reveals that the number of active addresses on the Ethereum network has risen significantly, with a 7-day moving average climbing from 368,000 on September 24 to 523,000 as of December 5. This surge in activity not only reflects greater network usage but also supports ether’s price by reducing its supply through Ethereum’s “burn” mechanism.
While ether’s performance shines, the broader cryptocurrency market, as represented by the CoinDesk 20 index, has dipped 1.4%. Stellar (XLM) and litecoin (LTC) have been the biggest laggards, with respective losses of 3.1% and 5% over the last 24 hours. Conversely, tokens like Uniswap (UNI) and render token (RDNR) have posted strong gains of 11.7% and 6.4% during the same period.
Ethereum’s recent breakout above $4,000 is bolstered by increased institutional interest, rising on-chain activity, and a favorable market backdrop, positioning the cryptocurrency as a standout performer in the current digital asset landscape.
