Ether (ETH), Ethereum’s native token, saw a significant price increase after former U.S. President Donald Trump endorsed cryptocurrency at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville. ETH rose by 3.5%, nearing $3,400 on July 29.
Trump’s Pro-Crypto Stance Boosts Market
Trump’s speech proposed the creation of a national strategic Bitcoin reserve, where the U.S. government would retain all BTC it currently holds or acquires. Following this, Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis announced a bill for the U.S. Treasury to acquire 1 million BTC over five years. Trump’s pro-crypto policies and a potentially more favorable regulatory environment in the U.S. have bolstered the market’s optimism. Additionally, Hong Kong Legislative Council Member Johnny Ng expressed plans to explore incorporating Bitcoin into the region’s financial reserves.
ETH/USD versus BTC/USD and crypto market capitalization daily performance chart. Source: TradingView
Market Anticipates Fed Rate Cuts
Ether’s price surge also comes ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy announcement on July 31. Market participants are looking for signs supporting a potential interest rate cut in September. With the Fed’s benchmark rate currently between 5.25% and 5.5%, there is increasing speculation about rate cuts due to a balanced labor market and declining inflation. The probability of a rate cut in September has risen to 87.7%, up from 57.9% a month ago. Lower borrowing costs make non-yielding, “riskier” assets like Bitcoin and Ether more attractive to investors.
US 2-year and 10-year Treasury note yields daily performance chart. Source: TradingView
ETH Funding Rates and Short Covering
Ether’s price gains are also linked to rising funding rates in Ethereum futures, which reached 0.26% per week as of July 29. This increase from the month’s low of 0.014% suggests an increase in bullish sentiment. Additionally, the open interest has declined from $15.22 billion to $13.97 billion, indicating short covering. This means bearish positions are being closed, contributing to the upward momentum.
Ether funding rates and open interest. Source: Coinglass
Technical Analysis: Key Support and Resistance Levels
From a technical perspective, Ether’s rebound began at a support confluence of the 200-day exponential moving average (EMA), a 0.236 Fibonacci retracement line, and the lower trendline of its descending channel pattern.
ETH/USD daily price chart. Source: TradingView
ETH is now approaching the channel’s upper trendline at around $3,460, which coincides with the 0.5 Fibonacci retracement line. A breakout above this channel could push the price toward the next resistance level at approximately $3,600.
