This start to the week is good for cryptocurrencies: on Monday, March 11, Bitcoin exploded from its previous record by surpassing $71,000! A capitalization that allows silver to overtake the 9th place among the largest capitalizations in the world with 1400 billion dollars, compared to 1380 billion for the metal. It is not the only one showing such form, as ether (ETH) returns to the $4,000 mark, a level the cryptocurrency has not reached since December 2021. However, unlike bitcoin, ether is still far from its historical high, reached in November 2021. : $ 4,800. However, this cryptocurrency was used to conduct transactions on the blockchain Ethereum, can rightly claim to have found this top again. Indeed, the blockchain has the advantage of being transparent and the data on chain of the Ethereum network suggest that momentum remains bullish.
The number of ethers hosted by crypto exchanges, such as Bitfinex, Binance, Huobi, Kraken or Huobi, has never been lower this year, according to data from the analytical site. Messari. In total, these platforms would store only about 13 million ether, or barely more than 10% of the total ether in circulation (120 million). Moreover, nothing mentions that these ethers are intended for sale, as most of these exchanges offer their users staking services, a token capturing mechanism to secure the blockchain.
In reality, over a quarter of the ether in circulation, or 31.3 million, is currently locked in a staking contract, meaning the ether is locked up and no longer available for purchase.
Ether ETFs soon allowed?
Just as bitcoins available for sale are becoming scarcer, the supply of ether is drastically decreasing. However, demand could explode: the Ethereum blockchain has become a security infrastructure over the years many other secondary networks (Arbitrum, Base, Optimism, Linea, Mantle, Manta or even Polygon), which implies that it is necessarily used for token transfer or data anchoring operations. Many activities require ‘gas’, or ether, to pay for transactions.
Moreover, the crypto market is speculating on a possible authorization from the SEC, the American financial products regulator, for spot ether ETFs. A request from asset managers Blackrock and Fidelity. The regulator will save its response for next May. Given the current buying pressure for these products on bitcoin, it is reasonable to assume that authorization of the stake for ether would also lead to a price increase.