Coinbase Premium and Ethereum Activity Drive Ether Past $4,000

Ethereum Crosses $4,000: A Sign of Renewed Market Confidence

Ethereum\u2019s ether (ETH) has surged past the $4,000 threshold, marking a significant recovery for the cryptocurrency since its last visit to this level in March. Trading at $4,033, ether has gained 2.4% in the past day and 8.4% over the past week, outpacing bitcoin (BTC) and signaling growing investor confidence.

The rally follows record-setting inflows into spot ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on Thursday, a development that has further solidified ether\u2019s bullish momentum. With this latest surge, ether is now within 2% of a new yearly high and remains just 20% shy of its all-time peak of $4,868.

One notable highlight is the rebound in the ETH/BTC ratio, which has reached 0.04 after struggling since late 2022. Historically, this level has marked a short-term peak for ether relative to bitcoin, hinting at a potential shift in market dynamics.

The Coinbase premium on ether has also continued to expand, underscoring increased demand from U.S. investors. The premium\u2014reflecting higher ether prices on Coinbase compared to Binance\u2014is often interpreted as a sign of heightened interest among institutional and retail participants in the U.S. Notably, this price discrepancy widened shortly after U.S. markets opened, suggesting that American traders are playing a key role in driving the rally.

Ethereum\u2019s network metrics further support the positive outlook. According to Glassnode, active addresses on the blockchain have surged, with the 7-day moving average increasing from 368,000 in late September to 523,000 in early December. This rise in on-chain activity boosts ether\u2019s price by limiting supply through Ethereum\u2019s “burn” mechanism, which reduces the total number of tokens in circulation.

Elsewhere in the crypto market, the CoinDesk 20 index\u2014which tracks the performance of top cryptocurrencies\u2014has declined by 1.4% over the past 24 hours. Leading the losses are stellar (XLM) and litecoin (LTC), with drops of 3.1% and 5%, respectively. In contrast, Uniswap (UNI) and render token (RDNR) have recorded impressive gains of 11.7% and 6.4%, showcasing the uneven performance across the digital asset landscape.

Ether\u2019s climb above $4,000 reflects growing market optimism, driven by institutional adoption, increasing on-chain activity, and favorable market trends. As Ethereum continues to gain traction, it reaffirms its status as a dominant force in the cryptocurrency sector.