Over the past day, Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has reached the $2900 level for the first time since May 2022. Over the week, the price of this cryptocurrency has increased by 10.36%, while the flagship asset Bitcoin has only seen a 3.82% increase in yield over the same period.

This sharp rise in ETH price can be explained by several factors. Firstly, in March 2024, the implementation of the Dencun upgrade is expected, which will bring improvements to the blockchain, including the long-awaited proposal EIP-4844. It is expected that this will significantly reduce transaction fees, especially in Layer 2 solutions such as Arbitrum, Optimism, Starknet. Secondly, speculative expectations dominate the market, associated with the potential approval of a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) for Ethereum in May.

According to data from the analytical service SpotOnChain, an unknown investor purchased 22,719 ETH worth $65.7 million through Binance and 1inch. In total, the whale owns 54,721 coins, equivalent to $155 million. This indicates that major investors expect the upward trend to continue.

However, experts note that the open interest in perpetual contracts for this coin indicates overheating of the futures market. This indicator tracks the total amount of futures contracts open on all centralized cryptocurrency exchanges. Typically, an increase in this indicator indicates imminent high volatility in the digital asset. Traders should exercise caution and consider the possibility of liquidations that could cause a significant short-term and medium-term decrease in the value of Ethereum.

As of February 20, 2024, the cryptocurrency is trading at $2930. The market capitalization of this digital asset is $352 billion, with a trading volume of $15 billion.