The price of ether (ETH), the native token to the Ethereum network, rose past $3,000 for the first time since April 2022 on Tuesday, continuing a recent hot streak.

Ether's price rose about 1.6% over the past 24 hours and has risen over 12% in the past week, outpacing other cryptocurrencies, according to data from CoinGecko.

Bitcoin's price was on the move as well, ahead more than 2% over the past 24 hours and nearing $53,000.

The broader CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) was ahead 0.65% over the same time frame.

Cryptocurrencies at large have had a green 2024 so far, with major tokens' prices well above where they were in 2023. ETH surged nearly 30% since the beginning of the year, outperforming BTC's 22% advance.

ETH's rally could continue, with traders targeting $3,500 as the next resistance level as market participants anticipate that spot-based ETH exchange-traded funds (ETF) could be next in line for U.S. regulatory approval.

"We are very close in this move to levels around $3,150-$3,300," said Kenny Hearn, SwissOne Capital’s chief investment officer, in an interview with CoinDesk. "The next level after that would be $3,600 and we think this is quite easily attainable in the next month or so as the alts continue to play catch up."

A potential approval would boost ETH's appeal among more conservative, institutional investors, just as the new bitcoin ETFs that debuted last month have attracted massive allocations.

Bernstein, a broker, said Monday that there is about a 50% chance of a spot ETH ETF approval by May and a near-certain probability of approval within the next 12 months.

Ether ETH Ethereum ETF

Nikhilesh De

Nikhilesh De is CoinDesk's managing editor for global policy and regulation, covering regulators, lawmakers and institutions. When he's not reporting on digital assets and policy, he can be found admiring Amtrak or building LEGO trains. He owns < $50 in BTC and < $20 in ETH. He was named the Association of Cryptocurrency Journalists and Researchers' Journalist of the Year in 2020.

Krisztian Sandor

Krisztian Sandor recently graduated from NYU's business and economic reporter program as a Fulbright fellow and worked with Reuters and Forbes previously. Originally from Budapest, Hungary, he is now based in New York. He holds BTC and ETH.

Lyllah Ledesma

Lyllah Ledesma is a CoinDesk Markets reporter currently based in Europe. She holds a master's degree from New York University in Business and Economics and an undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of East Anglia. Lyllah holds bitcoin, ether and small amounts of other crypto assets.