Ethereum Price Breaches $2K as BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust Triggers $48 Million Short Squeeze

Ethereum price has been moving higher over the past few days, outperforming Bitcoin and breaching the important resistance level of $2,000 for the first time since July 2023. Over the last day, Ethereum’s total market cap has increased by nearly 4% to $250.9 billion, while the total volume of the assets traded decreased by 12%. Ethereum, the largest altcoin by total market capitalization, has gained more than 12% in the past week and 71% in the year to date.

Catalysts Behind ETH’s Rally

Ethereum price has been hovering above the much-coveted resistance level of $2,000, its highest level in six months, on the back of the ETF buzz in the crypto markets and broader market sentiment. The cryptocurrency market has experienced a significant upswing over the past few days, fueled by investor anticipation surrounding spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

The lack of clear guidelines by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Congress has not dampened the interest of digital currencies. Notably, the potential introduction of ETFs by bigwigs such as BlackRock, Grayscale, and Fidelity, among others, has buoyed the crypto market sentiment. The crypto market cap has climbed over the past few days to $1.42 trillion, its highest level this year. Additionally, the Crypto Fear and Greed Index, which measures the crypto market sentiment by market participants, has increased to a greed level of 77, highlighting an increase in demand for digital assets and risk appetite.

The surge in Ethereum’s price has also been triggered by news of BlackRock registering the iShares Ethereum Trust in Delaware, resulting in $48 million worth of liquidations in ETH short futures. The news fueled optimistic expectations regarding a potential Ether ETF application by the major asset manager, BlackRock. This speculation follows BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust Registry in Delaware in June 2023, a week before the company’s Bitcoin ETF application.

Ethereum Price Analysis

Ethereum price has recorded significant gains over the past few days, breaking above the highly coveted $2,000 resistance level. The altcoin has broken above the ascending channel (shown in yellow), as seen on the daily chart. Ethereum remains above the 50-day and 200-day exponential moving averages, as well as the 100-day and 200-day simple moving averages. Its Relative Strength Index (RSI) has moved to the overbought zone, suggesting an increase in buying pressure. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator is signaling a buy.

Despite regulatory uncertainty, the Ethereum price is likely to continue edging higher in the short term with the next target resistance at $2,190. Bulls need to gather enough momentum to gain the upper hand and push the ETH price higher in the medium term. A drop below the immediate support level at $1,870.80 will invalidate the bullish thesis.

ETH Price Chart