Ethereum's native token, Ether ( ETH ), is up today, mirroring gains elsewhere in the cryptocurrency market as investors go bullish on a potential spot Bitcoin ETF approval in the U.S.

On Oct. 25, ETH's price stabilized around $1,800, a psychological resistance level, after rallying nearly 9% this week. The cryptocurrency's upside moves accompanied a rise in daily trading volumes, indicating strong interest in Ether from buyers.

ETH/USD daily price chart. Source: TradingView

Let's look close at the factors that have driven the price of ETH up in the past few days.

A win for Grayscale's spot Ethereum ETF 

On Oct. 24, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) acknowledged Grayscale Investment's application to convert its Ethereum trust into an ETF. 

SEC has acknowledged Grayscale's spot ether ETF filing...

This would be conversion of $ETHE into ETF. pic.twitter.com/JMmutgbakZ

— Nate Geraci (@NateGeraci) October 23, 2023

The commission's move is a response to a direct court order that mandates it to review Grayscale's pending ETF applications. So far, it has not confirmed a spot crypto ETF but has approved similar investment vehicles linked to Bitcoin and Ethereum futures.

However, the market anticipates that the SEC will approve a spot Bitcoin ETF in early 2024. Once that happens, many crypto analysts see a spot Ethereum ETF approval on the cards.

ETH is probably the best 6 to 12m long among large cap assets now when BlackRock applies for spot ETH ETF 6 to 12m down the road. Ethereum's ESG friendliness and native staking yield will be appealing to institutional investors should BTC spot ETF turn out to be a success.

— Arthur (@Arthur_0x) October 24, 2023

Ethereum whale transactions hit 3-month high

The growing ETF buzz coincides with an increase in whale activity across the Ethereum ecosystem.

Notably, the whale transaction count of Ether transactions exceeding $100,000 has jumped 15% in a week to reach its highest level since June, data on Santiment shows. Bitcoin ( BTC ), Cardano ( ADA ), and DAI have witnessed similar growth in whale transactions.

Ethereum whale transaction count exceeding $100K in value. Source: Santiment

The whale accumulation has accompanied a rise in Ether prices, indicating that most whales have backed the Ethereum rally. Further evidence comes from whales' ETH withdrawals from exchanges, meaning they have the least likelihood of trading the cryptocurrency for other assets in the future.

1 hour ago, Fresh Whale withdrew 8.31K $ETH ($15.09M) from #coinbase at $1816.

There have been 3 Fresh Wallets jointly accumulated a total of 47.76K $ETH ($82.97M) in the last 24H.

Bullish pic.twitter.com/sIzlMci76V

— The Data Nerd (@OnchainDataNerd) October 24, 2023

Short liquidations push ETH price to $1,800

Ethereum's price increase recently has coincided with short liquidations totalling over $70 million in Ether futures contracts. Meanwhile, only about $41 million worth of long positions were liquidated in the same period.

ETH total liquidation every 24 hours. Source: Coinglass

Short sellers were forced to close their positions by purchasing futures contracts at any price, leading to a price rise above $1,850 on Oct. 24.

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Ultimately, Ethereum bulls have reasons to feel more optimistic as hopes for new avenues of investment through traditional stock market brokers are emerging.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.