Solana SOL surged 5% in after U.S. hours on Tuesday on a Blockworks report saying that U.S. regulators are moving forward in the regulatory process necessary to make spot SOL exchange-traded funds (ETF) reality.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reportedly asked prospective issuers to amend their S-1 filings in the next week, according to the story, and will comment on the paperwork in the next 30 days after submission.

SOL jumped above $164 in the minutes following the report, up nearly 5% over the past 24 hours.

After the debut of bitcoin BTC and ether ETH spot ETFs in the U.S. last year, asset managers are racing to get regulatory approval to launch similar vehicles for smaller cryptocurrencies, offering traditional investors easier access to invest in digital assets. Several asset managers have filed applications with the SEC to launch funds holding SOL, including Fidelity, Grayscale, Franklin Templeton and VanEck.

Ether (ETH) ETH began the 24-hour session around $2,576 in early Asian trading, briefly dipped to $2,562 on light volume, then saw buying interest surge around 21:00 UTC on June 9 as turnover topped 436,000 coins, according to CoinDesk Research’s technical analysis model.

A second wave of demand just before 11:00 UTC on June 10 drove ether through the $2,700 barrier to a 24-hour high of $2,783; by press time it was trading at $2,744.87, up 6.54 percent on 560,900 coins (US$1.51 billion) moved.

Social sentiment has turned decidedly bullish. A popular trader on X said the move amounted to ether entering a true “beast mode” phase after brushing aside $1,500 and $2,200 barriers and forecast further upside toward $4,000 and beyond.

In an X thread on June 3, Consensys founder Joseph Lubin portrayed Etheruem as a nonstop settlement layer that processed over $25 trillion in transactions last year and serves as the backbone for stablecoins, tokenized assets, native yield and DeFi. He added that a $425 million private placement into SharpLink Gaming (SBET) aims to expose traditional investors to those yield opportunities.

Meanwhile, in a market note, QCP Capital pointed to the advancing GENIUS Act, renewed buzz around Circle’s IPO and increasing regulatory clarity for stablecoins as converging tailwinds that could drive outsized structural gains for Ether’s tokenization and settlement rails.

On-chain fundamentals also bolster the bullish case: staked ether recently reached a record 34.65 million tokens — locking up roughly 28.7 percent of supply — and may tighten bids around current support near $2,720.

Technical Analysis Highlights

• Ether staged two volume-backed breakouts: first above $2,600 on June 9 (436K ETH traded), then above $2,700 on June 10 (560.9K ETH).
• A clear series of higher lows and higher highs underpins a strong uptrend from $2,562 to $2,783.
• A high-volume supply zone now sits at $2,796, marking near-term resistance.
• A double-bottom formed between $2,720–$2,740 may support consolidation before the next leg higher.

Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.

Bitcoin’s BTC rise to new all-time highs is happening on a backdrop of deep economic strain, according to a new report from Cathie Wood-led ARK Invest.

Bitcoin’s 11.1% climb in May, outpaced gold and broke through key resistance levels, said ARK. Gains also coincided with clear signs of stress in the housing and auto sectors, traditionally seen as pillars of U.S. consumer strength.

In housing, the number of sellers has far outpaced buyers, a trend ARK links to the Federal Reserve’s steep rate hikes since 2022. With affordability deteriorating, pressure is mounting on prices in what remains the largest source of household net worth. Meanwhile, auto sales, which surged earlier this year in anticipation of tariffs, collapsed in May — falling to 15.6 million units from above 17 million just a month prior.

As these markets soften, bitcoin appears to be catching some of the capital looking for yield and resilience, ARK noted. Spot bitcoin ETFs drew $5.5 billion in May — more than triple the inflows seen in gold ETFs, which dropped sharply during the same period.

ARK noted that bitcoin’s current rally doesn’t yet reflect speculative excess. Profit-taking behavior remains measured, with unrealized gains sitting well below the levels that marked prior bubbles.

For investors moving away from stressed real-world assets, bitcoin may be serving not as a gamble, but as a calculated reallocation in a shifting economic landscape.