ETH has been experiencing a surge alongside the overall market’s rebound, climbing nearly 20% in the last week. With a significant rise approaching $3,000, the altcoin’s price increase has been backed by substantial accumulation by whale entities.

The buying spree by influential investors of the altcoin reflects the growing confidence as the industry anticipates the approval of a spot Ethereum ETF this year.

• An Ethereum whale, identified by blockchain analytics platform Spot On Chain, reportedly made substantial purchases within a short timeframe. Over the weekend, the whale firstly acquired 32,002 ETH, valued at $90 million, primarily through swapping 60 million USDT for 21,353 ETH via 1inch and withdrawing 10,649 ETH worth $30 million from Binance.
• Shortly thereafter, the whale made an additional purchase of 22,719 ETH, equivalent to $65.7 million, with transactions including withdrawing 19,226 ETH, worth over $55 million, from Binance and swapping 10.1 million USDT for 3,493 ETH via 1inch.
• Altogether, the entity amassed 54,721 ETH through Binance and 1inch, totaling $155.7 million, within 24 hours. This rapid accumulation coincided with Ethereum’s price surpassing $2,900, marking a significant milestone in its recent bullish trend.
• Ethereum has demonstrated a bullish performance throughout February. This is reflected in the Beacon Chain’s staked Ether surging to 30,206,801 ETH, locking up nearly a quarter of the total circulating supply, accompanied by 943,974 active validators.
• As such, the shrinking supply of the leading altcoin is further expected to boost its price trajectory.
• Another catalyst is the race for a spot Ethereum ETF that has attracted significant interest from Franklin Templeton, BlackRock, Fidelity, Ark, 21Shares, Grayscale, VanEck, Invesco, Galaxy, and Hashdex.
• Following the success of spot Bitcoin ETFs launched in mid-January, which amassed $11 billion, these institutions are eyeing similar opportunities with ETH.

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