Ethereum Takes the Lead with Plenty of Positive Forces Ahead
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| By Marija Matic |
As we start the new week, Ethereum (ETH, “B”) is sitting pretty with plenty of positive market fundamentals to capitalize on.
My colleague Beth Canova already talked about the approaching Ethereum spot ETF approval deadline last week. But that isn’t all that’s in store.
Ethereum is also anticipating another network upgrade, this one named Dencun. It aims to improve Ethereum's execution efficiency and data availability within the network.
A brief stroll down memory lane to the London and Shapella upgrades should be enough of a reminder that Ethereum upgrades are bullish catalysts.
ETH’s price has notably surged past the crucial resistance level of $3,040 and is holding strong above it after a retest.
It’s currently establishing itself above this key level, reaching a 22-month high:
Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC, “A”) seems to be taking its cue from Ethereum.
After almost two weeks stuck in a trading range between $50,450 and $53,000, it's currently attempting to break free from this consolidation pattern:
Maintaining this momentum is crucial for Bitcoin to reach its next targets, which could bring it to the attention-grabbing range of $57,000-$63,000.
And ETH isn’t just leading the current price action. The open interest for CME Bitcoin futures has risen 58% to $6.8 billion this month.
That’s not bad. But it still pales in comparison to the 86% increase to around $1.1 billion for CME ETH futures.
With Ethereum finally finding its footing this bull market, savvy investors are likely already considering how they will navigate altcoin season, when it hits.
That’s when top altcoins outperform our biggest market leaders. And if you hope to ride that wave, it pays to start paying attention now.
For example, Uniswap’s (UNI, “B-”) token experienced a notable surge on Friday following the Uniswap Foundation’s proposal for a large-scale “fee switch” upgrade to Uniswap protocol governance.
As a reminder, Uniswap is the largest decentralized exchange.
If approved through the upcoming on-chain vote scheduled for March, this eagerly anticipated fee mechanism would translate into rewards for UNI token holders who have delegated and staked their tokens.
In English, the end result is the enhancement of the intrinsic value of the UNI token itself.
Such a development could potentially catalyze the resurgence of the DeFi 1.0 narrative, leading to upward movements in other prominent DeFi tokens like Aave (AAVE, “B-”) and Curve (CRV, “C+”).
We’ve also seen incredible action surrounding AI-related coins over the past week. And with the strength of the AI narrative in both traditional finance and crypto, that is a trend that will likely continue.
My colleague Juan Villaverde is already one step ahead on this front. He’s been giving a lot of thought to how to navigate an altcoin season with one goal in mind: maximizing profit potential by targeting small cryptos with big growth potential.
He recently recorded an urgent briefing with Weiss Ratings founder Dr. Martin Weiss on just this topic, revealing how to multiply crypto gains by as much as 100x — all without leverage or options.
It’s a compelling strategy … and the timing couldn’t be better to apply it. So, I urge you to watch this briefing now. It’ll be offline by tomorrow.
Meanwhile, traditional finance continues to show fairly strong interest in Bitcoin. Investors poured $583 million in last week. With the recent price surge, we could expect even stronger inflows this week.
The demand from TradFi surpasses expectations, as evidenced by the cumulative net inflows of $5.49 billion into spot Bitcoin ETFs since their launch in January.
Currently, spot ETFs hold a significant chunk of Bitcoin, representing about 3.73% of the total circulating supply with a combined value of $38.4 billion.
This TradFi interest is even more meaningful due to the subdued sales from Grayscale in February, suggesting investors might be holding onto their Bitcoin in anticipation of the upcoming halving event and potential price hikes.
Notable News, Notes & Xeets
- Nigeria blocks access to crypto exchanges in effort to curb currency slide.
- An Australian man vanished after receiving half a million dollars in crypto account error. Cryptocurrency trading platform Rhino Trading Pty Ltd. accidentally added an extra zero to his account.
- Empirical analysis identifies blockchain as the highest-performing information security startup investment, outperforming artificial intelligence, machine learning, private cloud and cloud security.
- Nvidia (NVDA) CEO says kids shouldn't learn to code — they should leave it up to AI.
What’s Next
Bitcoin and Ethereum both experienced breakouts today, potentially signaling a continuation of the uptrend.
However, for Bitcoin to reach its next targets between $57,000 and $63,000, it needs to decisively reclaim the $53,000 level.
Similarly, Ethereum's continued ascent toward $3,600 hinges on maintaining its position above $3,040.
Should the current bullish momentum hold, we are going to see alts rallying soon again.
Meanwhile, institutional confidence in crypto remains strong, as evidenced by significant demand for spot ETFs. Case in point, MicroStrategy's recent purchase of 3,000 additional BTC at $51,813.
This wild ride is only just getting started. Hold on tight because things are likely only getting wilder from here.
Best,
Marija Matić
