7 Billion

Ethereum (ETH) has been dominating the cryptocurrency market, reaching a 22-month high as it continues to break records. The second-largest digital asset by market cap is currently trading at $3,151, with CoinGecko reporting a 3.5% increase since the same time yesterday and an overall 8% rise over the past week.

Notably, ETH's open interest has recently hit a multi-year high of $7.7 billion, with funding rates also spiking to their highest levels since early January. These indicators suggest a growing influx of capital into the market, driven by escalating speculative interest and hedging activities.

In addition to its impressive market performance, Ethereum is gearing up for an essential network upgrade next month. Dubbed "Dencun," the upgrade aims to address scalability issues within the blockchain. It will introduce "proto-danksharding" to the network, promising increased speed and cost-efficiency through layer 2 solutions.

Traditional Wall Street firms are eyeing opportunities in the Ethereum market, with hopes of launching an ETH exchange-traded product. Notable names such as BlackRock, VanEck, and Grayscale are eagerly awaiting approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to introduce these offerings to traditional investors. Coinbase recently showed its support for Grayscale's Ethereum ETF application by submitting a comment letter to the SEC.

This news comes after the SEC greenlit 10 spot Bitcoin ETFs in January, which have since garnered significant popularity and received substantial capital inflows. Ethereum's continued surge and upcoming network upgrade indicate a promising outlook for the cryptocurrency's future.