Ethereum Surges on BlackRock's Ethereum ETF Filing

Ether (ETH) surged over 10% to reach a seven-month high of nearly $2,100 after asset management giant BlackRock revealed plans to file for an ETH-based exchange-traded fund (ETF). Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC) hit an 18-month high of almost $38,000 before experiencing a sharp reversal. While ETH and BTC showed strength, most altcoins experienced declines as capital rotation to smaller tokens halted. Ripple's XRP, dogecoin (DOGE), uniswap (UNI), and Stellar's XLM all declined, while governance tokens of top ETH liquid staking platforms, Lido (LDO) and RocketPool (RPL), saw gains. The market divergence was attributed to a risk-off sentiment in traditional markets following comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell about potential interest rate hikes. The approval of a spot ETH ETF could provide a regulated and accessible way for institutions and consumers to participate in the ETH ecosystem.