Ethereum Primed to Trigger Massive Altcoin Rally—Can ETH Price Hit $3,000?

Ethereum's gearing up to be the catalyst the altcoin market's been waiting for. Traders are eyeing ETH's next move as bullish momentum builds—could this be the push that sends the entire ecosystem soaring?

Breaking the Chains

ETH's price action isn't just about Ethereum anymore. When the second-largest crypto flexes its muscles, altcoins tend to follow. The $3,000 psychological barrier now looms large as institutional money starts nibbling at DeFi blue chips.

The Domino Effect

Market makers are positioning for what could be the first real alt season since 2021. ETH's relative strength against Bitcoin has historically signaled when it's time for smaller caps to shine—and that signal's flashing green.

Wall Street's Latest Dilemma

While traditional finance scrambles to understand 'web3 yield,' Ethereum's network activity tells the real story. Gas fees are up, but so are developer commits—the kind of contradiction that makes hedge fund analysts reach for their Xanax.

Will history repeat with another speculative frenzy? Or has the market finally grown up? Either way, Ethereum's holding all the cards.

A popular crypto analyst recently predicted a bullish breakout for ethereum (ETH) and the general altcoin market.

The analyst, Michael van de Poppe, foresees ETH hitting a major price breakout, even towards $3,000, as Gold encounters a key resistance.

How Gold Could Spark a Major Trigger for Ethereum

Van de Poppe noted in an X post that Gold could spark a major price rally if it breaks above $3,365.

According to the analyst, gold has taken liquidity above two crucial highs and is preparing for a potential breakdown.

He noted that gold needs to overcome the $3,365 resistance to avoid such a breakdown.

On the bearish side, if it fails to breach above $3,365 price mark, gold could plummet to $3,200 and a new low of $3,080.

Further price downtrend for gold WOULD mark the end of a sustained longer correction, fueling risk-on appetite for altcoins, especially ETH.

As of this writing, gold was trading at $3,384, down 0.19% over the past day. Surprisingly, altcoins are demonstrating strength despite volatility shifting the overall trend.

At the moment, Ethereum is acting way stronger than Bitcoin (BTC), raising expectations about an upsurge.

On the hourly chart, BTC has rallied just 0.4%, while ETH saw increases of 1.7% as of writing.

Within the same timeframe, altcoins like Solana (SOL), XRP, and Dogecoin (DOGE) experienced price increases of 0.5%, 0.6%, and 1.1%.

The price of ETH has rallied substantially from its $2,400 low to the current $2,510. Van de Poppe thinks the ETH strength is not random, but signals a rotation into altcoins.

Can Ethereum Price Hit $3,000?

Ethereum has successfully bounced off the $2,475 support zone, aiming to reach the $2,600 to $2,650 range.

This level served as short-term resistance in recent weeks.  From here, a run toward $2,850 and eventually $3,000 seems possible.

However, ETH must first break clear above the $2,650 mark. The transaction volume would also play a role in Ethereum’s possible rally to $3,000.

Despite a minor cooling recently, the volume has remained largely constant.

Ethereum is on track to see a bullish breakout if traders and institutional players continue to accumulate the coin.

Ethereum whales have proved they are not giving up on the coin. Whale transaction volume recently increased by 3.72% over a 30-day period. Collectively, Ethereum whale holdings now top approximately 1.49 million ETH.

Altcoin ETF Approval Expectation Soars in the US

Several top US firms have submitted documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to list altcoin-based ETFs.

Specifically, Franklin Templeton, WisdomTree, and Bitwise have all applied to launch spot XRP Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs).

Polymarket recently predicted an 83% chance of spot XRP ETF approval in 2025. This prediction follows the launch of XRP futures by the CME Group.

Meanwhile, the SEC officially reviewed WisdomTree’s XRP ETF application in May. Besides XRP, firms have applied to list spot ETFs based on Solana, Dogecoin, and Litecoin (LTC).

The SEC delayed its review window on Franklin Templeton spot XRP ETF and Bitwise’s dogecoin ETF until June 17, 2025.

Besides, staking on spot Ethereum ETF offerings is another product investors are pushing for.

It is still unclear whether the SEC will eventually approve these products, and the timeline to watch out for.

However, analysts from Bloomberg predicted that the US SEC would approve an altcoin-based ETF in the fourth quarter of the year.