Ethereum rose to intraday highs of $1,701 before settling to trade at $1,686 at press time, still up 9% in the last 24 hours.
The movement may have surprised traders who had previously wagered on falling prices following the closure of two important crypto-friendly banks last week and the USDC stablecoin depegging. When the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced that Silicon Valley Bank depositors will have complete access to their money after confirming a successful transfer of deposits to a new bridge bank, investors' sentiment improved.In positive news, crypto exchange Binance announced the conversion of $1 billion worth of Binance USD to Bitcoin , Ethereum , BNB coin and other tokens to support the market.
The transaction from Binance's industry fund, which occurred Monday, probably increased buying pressure. Bitcoin regained the $24,500 mark, while Ether briefly touched the $1,700 mark. A group of individuals that might have caused buying pressure for Ethereum are whales or large holders with 1,000 to 10,000 coins.