Ethereum price forecast for 2024: Is ETH headed for a bull run?

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the first spot Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) last week. Ethereum price has surged in the anticipation of this decision with crypto experts now saying that the bull run has just started.

The wave of positive regulatory news did not stop there as the House of Representatives passed its first crypto bill, and the UK gave the green light to crypto exchange-traded products.

Signs that an approval was imminent appeared earlier in the week when several exchanges amended their filings to exclude staking.

According to Kaiko Research’s latest analysis, the market had been gradually pricing out an ETF approval over the past month amid growing uncertainty around ETH's regulatory status.

“With these approvals, the SEC implicitly stated that ETH (without staking) is a commodity rather than a security. This isn’t just about access to ETH but has significant and likely positive ramifications on how all similar tokens will be regulated in the U.S. with respect to trading, custody, transfer, etc.,” Kaiko Research added.

ETH implied volatility for the nearest expiry surged from less than 60% on May 20 to nearly 90% on May 22 before retreating by the end of the week. This dramatic shift in sentiment was also evident in derivatives markets.

Ethereum price hit a 2-month high on Monday as bulls try to break above the strong resistance zone that is surrounding the $4,000 level.

“For a long time, Ethereum was cornered between narratives, often pursuing trends. We are finally seeing its relative market share catching up to its fundamentals. Bull runs are fueled by attention, inflows, and narratives, and Ethereum has been scoring points on all three fronts lately,” Kiril Nikolov, DeFi Strategist at Nexo.