Ethereum Bull Run Sustained, Bad News: Speculators Are In

Like
Bitcoin
and
top
altcoins,
including
Solana,
Ethereum
is
holding
steady.
At
the
time
of
writing,
it
is
trading
above
the
local
support
at
$3,300
and
floating
higher,
targeting
$3,700.

Speculators
Flowing
To
ETH
As
Bulls
Set
Sight
On
$3,700

The
leg
up
is
fueled
by
multiple
market-related
factors,
mainly
the
anticipated
launch
of
spot
Ethereum
ETFs
in
the
next
few
days.
As
seen
from
the
daily
chart,
news
of
the
United
States
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
(SEC)
fast-tracking
the
approval
of
19b-4
forms
sparked
a
wave
of
demand
from
May
20.

However,
speculators
are
permeating
the
scene
even
as
prices
remain
steady
and
uptrend.
CryptoQuant
data
shows
that
the
estimated
leverage
ratio
has
risen
in
the
past
few
trading
days.

With
this
reading
ticking
higher,
the
ETH
scene
receives
more
leveraged
traders
keen
more
on
profiting
from
price
volatility
rather
than
benefiting
from
what
ETH
as
a
digital
asset
presents.

According
to
CryptoQuant,
the
estimated
leverage
ratio
stood
at
0.347
on
July
16
before
rising
to
0.354
on
July
17.
The
expansion
suggests
that
traders
are
increasingly
borrowing
funds
on
perpetual
trading
platforms
like
Binance
and
OKX,
hoping
to
make
a
killing
if
ETH
bulls
push
prices
above
$3,700.

As
prices
rally,
the
estimated
leverage
ratio
will
likely
climb
even
higher.
The
local
top
is
at
0.358,
as
recorded
on
July
14.
The
all-time
leverage
ratio
was
at
0.392,
registered
in
early
July
2024.

Eyes
On
Spot
Ethereum
ETFs:
Will
It
Be
A
Success?

Ethereum
traders
are
confident
that
prices
will
rise,
even
breaching
all-time
highs,
once
spot
ETH
ETFs
are
launched.
The
latest
reports
show
that
the
derivative
product
will
launch
early
next
week,
allowing
institutional
investors
to
gain
exposure.

The
United
States
SEC
has
given
the
green
light
to
three
issuers
to
launch.
However,
it
is
expected
that
all
spot
Ethereum
ETF
applicants
whose
19b-4
forms
have
been
approved
will
be
permitted
to
launch
simultaneously.

Confidence
is
high
that
spot
Ethereum
ETFs
will
follow
the
success
of
their
spot
Bitcoin
ETFs.
According
to
SosoValue,
all
spot
Bitcoin
ETF
issuers
manage
over
$53
billion
of
BTC
as
of
July
18.

Even
so,
though
highly
anticipated
and
likely
to
positively
impact
prices,
the
product
will
see
a
different
level
of
demand
than
when
spot
Bitcoin
ETFs
launched.

Analysts
pin
this
to
Ethereum’s
lower
market
cap
and
the
United
States
SEC’s
decision
not
to
allow
spot
ETF
issuers
to
stake
ETH.
By
staking,
issuers
would
receive
rewards
on
behalf
of
their
clients.

Feature
image
from
Canva,
chart
from
TradingView