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According to reports, ethereum (ETH) price action is now similar to when it bottomed out in August last year, suggesting that a new rally could be on the horizon. Data shows that ETH is down 32 per cent since mid-December 2024 to $2,770, significantly lagging behind Bitcoin's performance. Jake Ostrovskis, an over-the-counter (OTC) trader at cryptocurrency market maker Wintermute, said demand for over-the-counter (OTC) trading in ETH remained strong, despite market volatility over the weekend that caused some funds to blow up their positions. The US spot ETH ETF saw net inflows of $420 million this week, or about 13 per cent of the $3.18 billion total inflows since listing, according to the data. In the options market, large call option trades on the Deribit exchange, including a combination of calls with a buy strike of $3,500 and a sell strike of $5,000 and an expiry date of 26 December 2025, suggest investors are bullish on ETH crossing $5,000 by the end of the year.

According to Blockworks, Empire analyst Jason Yanowitz noted that the current cycle may still be early if we exclude Strategy's (formerly MicroStrategy) bitcoin purchases, and that the current bitcoin price is entirely dependent on the more than $20 billion that Strategy has thrown at it since the end of last year. The market is still in a ‘pure player takeover’ (PvP) phase, and venture capital has yet to come in on a large scale. Dan Matuszewski of CMS Holdings agrees, pointing out that the effects of the 2022 bear market are still being felt, and that there is a fundamental lack of liquidity in the market, which is preventing substantial inflows, which have yet to come in on a large scale, with the exception of a ‘select few’. The debate about whether or not the top has been reached will intensify. But regardless of the position in the cycle, we need to recognise that the new regulator is just getting started and its policies could be a catalyst for the future.