Ethereum Surpasses $4000 as Retail Investors Drive Surge in Value

Ethereum, the leading altcoin, surpassed the $4,000 milestone on December 7, marking a significant achievement after facing challenges in recent months. The surge in Ethereum’s price was driven by a growing number of retail investors showing interest in the cryptocurrency.

Over the weekend, Ethereum reached a local high of $4,100 and has since remained close to that level. As of writing, the price of Ethereum stands at $3,950 with a market capitalization of $475 billion. The cryptocurrency experienced a modest 0.8% decline in the past 24 hours and recorded a daily trading volume increase of 21% to $24.5 billion.

Recent data from the analytics platform IntoTheBlock revealed that investors accumulated over $1 billion worth of ETH over the previous week. Notably, a large outflow of almost 104,000 ETH from exchanges occurred on December 4, indicating significant investor activity in the market.

It’s interesting to note that retail investors have been more active than whale investors, with a negative 0.65% ratio for large holder-to-exchange net flow. Ethereum saw a decline in large holder inflows, with Sunday marking a one-month low and a net outflow of 4,550 ETH from whale addresses, suggesting a possible short-term correction due to whale selloffs.

The surge in Ethereum’s price to the $4,000 zone can be attributed to the introduction of spot ETH exchange-traded funds in the U.S., which saw a net inflow of $836.8 million in the past week. Additionally, Ethereum’s decentralized finance sector experienced significant growth, with the ETH DeFi total value locked reaching $77 billion on Monday for the first time since April 2022, as reported by Defi Llama.

Overall, the recent market trends indicate a positive sentiment towards Ethereum, driven by increased retail investor participation, institutional investments, and growth in the DeFi sector. These developments have contributed to Ethereum’s successful breakthrough of the $4,000 mark.