Ether Leads Crypto Market Higher as Bitcoin Attempts to Shrug Off Dip

Ethereum’s ether ETH raced ahead on Wednesday, leading the crypto market higher after a modest dip earlier this week.

ETH broke above the $3,200 level for the first time since early February, gaining 6.5% over the past 24 hours, CoinDesk data shows. It’s now ahead a full 22% over the past seven days.

Bitcoin BTC also bounced back above $119,000 during the early hours of the U.S. session, climbing 2.6%. The CoinDesk 20 index, a broad-based benchmark focusing on majors, was up 4.5%.

BTC investors bought this week’s dip to $116,000 from record highs hand over fist, analytics firm Glassnode noted. According to the firm’s data, market participants “stepped in aggressively,” scooping up around 196,600 BTC ($23 billion) between the $116,000 and $118,000 levels.

Meanwhile, strong flows to spot exchange-traded funds and continuous bid from crypto treasury firms are providing a tailwind for ETH.

U.S.-listed spot ETH ETFs booked record inflows over $900 million last week, accounting for 29% of all inflows this year, Anagram partner David Shuttleworth noted. At $450 million with only two days into the week, inflows could surpass $1 billion this week, he added.

Sharplink Gaming (SBET) revealed this week it acquired more than 74,000 ETH with $257 million capital remaining for further purchases, while Bitmine Immersion (BMNR) bought over $500 million of the asset.