Benefiting from U.S. Policy
Stablecoins, Asset Tokenization, and DeFi Enter the Institutional Framework
Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is expected to reach a new all-time high by the end of the year, buoyed by the United States' policy direction toward regulatory clarity in the virtual asset market.
On August 4 (local time), U.S. financial media outlet MarketWatch reported that bullish sentiment is spreading, with growing expectations that Ethereum could break its previous all-time high within the year.
According to CoinMarketCap, a cryptocurrency market data aggregator, as of 9:00 a.m. on August 5, Ethereum was trading at 5,148,759 KRW, up 6.30% over the past 24 hours. Although Ethereum had been on a downward trend over the past week due to economic uncertainties such as the cooling U.S. job market, it has surged nearly 40% in the past month compared to early last month when it was trading around $2,560.
The recent strength in Ethereum has been driven by increased interest in stablecoins pegged to the U.S. dollar and the trend of tokenization, which involves moving financial assets onto the blockchain. Ethereum is regarded as the most reliable blockchain network for operating stablecoins, tokenization, and DeFi services.
During the same period, Bitcoin rose by 6%. Bitcoin is currently trading at 159,320,000 KRW, up 0.74% in the past 24 hours.
Experts predict that this upward momentum could continue for the time being, supported by the trend toward regulatory easing. John Glover, Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at crypto lending company Ledn, told MarketWatch, "From a technical perspective, the next major resistance level for Ethereum is around $4,100," adding, "There is also a possibility that it could surpass its all-time high of $4,865.81 within this year."
Ethereum is attracting capital inflows amid expectations that it will serve as the foundational network for the stablecoin ecosystem, which is anticipated to expand following the enactment of the U.S. GENIUS Act. Currently, officially registered futures exchanges with the CFTC, such as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), only list Bitcoin and Ethereum futures for trading.
Under the directive of President Trump, the United States is also accelerating the institutionalization of the virtual asset industry. On July 31, the White House released the "Comprehensive Report of the Digital Assets Working Group," which serves as a regulatory framework for virtual assets, and outlined President Trump's pro-virtual asset policy direction.
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