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The price of Ether (ETH), the native token of the Ethereum blockchain and the world’s second most valuable cryptocurrency by market capitalization, continues its bounce from Monday’s lows and was last trading in the $2,230s, up over 4.5% in the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap.

The bounce comes despite the news that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed decisions on a number of Ether Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) applications, including one from Hashdex and Grayscale.

Instead, Ether traders have been bidding the price higher in tandem with a broader crypto market rally that has seen Bitcoin (BTC) push back to the north of the $43,000 level.

The rally in the broader crypto space comes as macro traders continue to bet on interest rate cuts in the US and around the world next year, bets which are lifting the US equity prices and weighing on yields and the US dollar.

The S&P 500 was last trading at its highest levels since January 2022 at 4,750 and only just off record highs, while US 10-year yields were hovering close to multi-month lows around 3.90%.

SEC Delays Hashdex and Grayscale Ethereum-based ETFs – What’s Going On?

As per regulatory filings published by the SEC on their website, decisions on Hashdex’s Nasdaq Ethereum ETF and on Grayscale’s Ethereum Futures ETF have been delayed until next May.

UPDATE: SEC Going early with delay orders for @hashdex & @Grayscale #Ethereum ETF filings. Neither were due until Jan 1, 2024.

Maybe just clearing the queue before the holidays? pic.twitter.com/LdZQxGh43L

— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) December 18, 2023

The SEC also delayed decisions on spot Ethereum ETF applications from VanEck, ARK Invest and 21Shares.

As per Bloomberg’s ETF analyst James Seyffart, these delays were expected to come in before the 25th of December.

The SEC said that they chose to delay the decision to allow more time to gather public input surrounding whether the ETFs should be listed.

While the SEC has in the past approved Ether futures ETFs, it is yet to approve any spot Ether ETFs, or mixed Ether ETFs – Hashdex’s proposed ETF would aim to hold both Ether futures and spot Ether.

Grayscale’s ETF proposal, meanwhile, only aims to hold Ether futures, but some analysts have claimed that Grayscale are attempting to use the ETF application as a “trojan horse” to force the SEC into eventually allowing them set up a spot Ether ETF.

Price Prediction – Where Next for Ether (ETH)?

Ether’s latest strong price bounce from Monday’s lows near-$2,100 shows that, for now, the key long-term support level around $2,150 remains intact.

Moreover, if Ether is able to hold above its 21DMA, which it is currently grappling with, that would suggest that the short-term bullish market trend remains intact.

Whilst Ether ETFs may have been delayed this week by the SEC, asset managers have continued filing amendments to their spot Bitcoin ETFs with the agency, a sign that dialogue continues and near-term approvals are very likely.

That, as well as aforementioned macro tailwinds, could help the crypto market continue trading with a positive bias into the year’s end.

It is notable, however, that Ether appears to be forming a bearish descending triangle structure.

A break below here could trigger a short-term setback to the price and dip back below $2,000.

Ether Alternative to Consider – Bitcoin Minetrix ($BTCMTX)

An exciting new decentralized Bitcoin mining protocol called Bitcoin Minetrix is generating a lot of hype, and has already raised over $850,000 in funds from early investors into its $BTCMTX token presale.

$BTCMTX is the token that powers the protocol – investors who buy $BTCMTX can then stake their tokens to start earning non-transferable Bitcoin Minetrix mining credits.

These credits can then be burnt by their owners, and in exchange, they will get a share in Bitcoin Minetrix’s Bitcoin mining revenues.

$BTCMTX token holders will also earn $BTCMTX rewards, with a portion of the token supply already set aside to reward early stakers.

Bitcoin Minetrix’s protocol is governed by smart contracts built on top of the decentralized Ethereum blockchain, which is also where its token is issued.

The protocol thus offers better transparency and security versus other centralized cloud mining services.

Check Out Bitcoin Minetrix Here

Disclaimer: Crypto is a high-risk asset class. This article is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice. You could lose all of your capital.

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