Ethereum poised to post major gains as institutional interest surges

The second largest cryptocurrency on the market, the Ethereum (ETH), could be poised to post major gains amid rising institutional interest. Gautam Chhugani, managing director of Bernstein’s global digital assets division, highlighted ETH’s recent underperformance as an attractive opportunity for investors.

Ethereum (ETH), the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, surpassed yesterday the $3.800 mark on December 4, 2024, reaching a new milestone by reaching $3.850,67. This is the highest value since July of this year.

In his analysis, the expert highlighted the relatively stable supply of Ethereum, as well as the implementation of a burning mechanism, as important points for creating a favorable scenario for the asset's promising future potential.

Among the points Chhugani made, he highlighted the growing interest in spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as a very positive development for the ecosystem. The approval of the products has sparked more institutional interest in the second-largest cryptocurrency on the market. Chhugani highlighted a potential change in the SEC that could allow Ethereum staking yields to be included in the cryptocurrency’s offerings, thus increasing the asset’s appeal to investors.

“Ethereum has been a laggard to Bitcoin – up 59% YTD vs. 124% for Bitcoin. However, Ethereum’s fundamentals look strong and the recent inflection in ETF flows indicates a solid pick-up in interest,” stated .

Bernstein believes SEC approval for Ethereum ETF staking yield

Bernstein, a research and brokerage firm, expressed recently expressed his belief in a potential approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the staking yield of the Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF), according to information published by The Block.

According to the publication, the company's analysts stated in a note today, November 2, that staking yields are expected to be approved for spot Ethereum ETFs in the US under President-elect Donald Trump. This would be, in the experts' view, one of the four factors driving the resurgence of interest in the asset.

However, analysts have highlighted ETH’s struggles as a store of value compared to bitcoin, as well as facing stiff competition from other faster Layer 1 blockchains such as Solana (SOL), Sui and Aptos (APT). However, Bernstein expert Gautam Chhugani has highlighted that Ethereum’s risk-reward currently looks attractive, highlighting four growth catalysts. Analysts say the potential inclusion of yield staking is one such factor.

At the time of publication, the price of Ethereum was quoted at US$3.890,03, up 2.0% in the last 24 hours.