Futures Boost? Ether Looks Up on 11-Week High

Having clocked an eleven-day high on Sunday, the price of ether, ethereum's native token, may have more gains ahead.

As per CoinMarketCap, the cryptocurrency rose to $371.29 yesterday – its highest level since Sep. 2. Week-on-week, ETH has gained 13.22 percent, while on a monthly basis, it is up 15.08 percent. At time of writing, the ether-U.S. dollar (ETH/USD) exchange rate is at $358 levels.

ETH seems to have pushed fears over the Parity wallet freeze on the back burner and moved higher to $350 levels in line with the bullish technicals as expected. The bid tone strengthened on Nov. 16 alongside a Bloomberg report that said the second-biggest cryptocurrency is poised to get its own derivatives market.

"Contracts on the ether digital currency will be offered by an as-yet-unnamed exchange going by the code name Virtuoso," the report said. "Virtuoso" will reportedly be regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and plans to offer futures, non-deliverable forwards, swaps and forwards by the first or second quarter of 2018.

If the plan comes to fruition, ether derivatives will provide an avenue for yield-hungry institutional investors to invest in an asset that is up 4,000 percent on a year-to-date basis.

The price action analysis suggests ether is aiming for record highs and any dips are likely to be short-lived.

Ether chart

The above chart shows:

• A solid bullish Bollinger band breakout
• Prices closed above resistance of $350 (Oct. 16 high)
• Bullish relative strength index (RSI)
• All major averages – 50-day MA, 100-day MA, 20-day MA, 10-day MA – are sloping upwards in favor of the bulls.

View

• Ether looks set to test record highs above $400 levels over the next week or two.
• Dips, if any, are likely to be capped below the 10-day MA level of $332 levels.
• Only an end-of-day close below $310 (50-day MA) would abort the bullish view.

Ladder image via Shutterstock