Ether rises by 10%, driving cryptocurrency recovery amid increased ETF interest and Bitmine acquisitions.

Recent ETF inflows, treasury acquisitions of digital assets, and a transition from bitcoin to altcoins are contributing to the rise of the second-largest cryptocurrency.

Ethereum (ETH) price on Monday (CoinDesk)

Key points:

• The price of Ethereum’s ether (ETH) increased by 10% to surpass $2,300, outperforming both bitcoin and the wider crypto market.
• U.S. spot ether ETFs experienced their largest weekly inflow since mid-January, while the digital asset treasury Bitmine increased its purchasing activity, bolstering ETH’s strength.
• Experts suggest that ETH’s rise relative to bitcoin may indicate a broader shift towards altcoins, although macroeconomic concerns remain.

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BTCBTC$74,189.68◢3.68%

Ethereum’s ether (ETH) is taking center stage in Monday’s market rally, reaching a six-week peak as investor interest begins to return to the second-largest digital currency following months of significant declines.

The native token of Ethereum, ETH, climbed above $2,300, achieving over a 10% gain within the last 24 hours. This performance significantly surpassed bitcoin’s 3% rise and the approximately 5% increase in the CoinDesk 20 Index, indicating a shift in momentum towards assets outside of bitcoin.

This increase follows a challenging period for the broader crypto landscape, including ether. Despite the rebound, ETH remains over 50% lower than its record high in August and had previously dropped around 65% from its peak during the market downturn.

Prices have shown signs of stabilization in February and March, while institutional investments are starting to become more favorable.

U.S. spot ether ETFs attracted upwards of $160 million in new funds last week, marking their highest weekly inflows since mid-January, according to data from SoSoValue. Additionally, global asset manager BlackRock has introduced a yield-bearing Ethereum staking ETF (ETHB), which has already garnered more than $45 million in inflows during its first two trading days, in addition to a $104 million initial investment, according to data from Farside Investors.

At the same time, BitMine (BMNR), the largest corporate holder focused on Ethereum treasury strategies, has acquired nearly 122,000 ETH — valued at more than $280 million at current prices — in the last two weeks, providing an additional source of demand.

BMNR shares increased by 13.6% on Monday, while another significant ETH treasury firm, Sharplink Gaming (SBET), is up 9.1%.

Shift from bitcoin

Analysts suggest that the current price movements may indicate that investors are shifting towards ether after bitcoin had dominated inflows earlier in the year.

"ETH’s relative strength indicates potential rotation dynamics, possibly linked to network advancements and valuation attractiveness beyond bitcoin,” stated Joel Kruger, market strategist at LMAX Group.

He noted that ether has surpassed a crucial range against bitcoin that it had been trading within since the end of January. "This could potentially signify a significant low for ETHBTC.”

ETH price against BTC (TradingView)

Adam Saville Brown, head of commercial at Tesseract Group, views this trend as an indication of a growing risk appetite within the crypto space.

"Ethereum’s strong performance is noteworthy,” stated Adam Saville Brown. “ETH has risen back above $2,200 after a period of underperformance. Such a shift towards the second-largest asset indicates a broadening risk appetite, which is generally a positive sign.”

However, he warned that the rally might remain vulnerable to macroeconomic indicators.

"If Powell adopts a cautious stance on inflation, gains in altcoins could reverse more quickly than in bitcoin,” cautioned Saville Brown. "The realistic assessment is that the floor appears solid. The ceiling will require more than just a hold on rates to surpass.”

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