Liquid Staking Clarity Propels ETH Above $4K, Fuels Rally Across Layer-2s and Staking Tokens
Fresh regulatory clarity from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) around liquid staking has ignited a broad market rally across Ethereum’s ecosystem, pushing ETH past the $4,000 mark for the first time since December.
Ethereum’s move higher is reverberating across the Layer-2 landscape. Optimism’s OP token gained 8% in the last 24 hours, bringing its weekly advance to 13%, while Blast followed closely with a 6.3% uptick. The standout performer was Mantle’s MNT token, which surged 50% this week, supported by renewed interest in optimistic rollup-based scaling solutions.
Staking-related tokens also outperformed. Lido DAO (LDO) advanced 12.3%, and EtherFi (ETHFI) rose 5.4% over the same period, reflecting renewed investor confidence in yield-generating protocols now operating under clearer regulatory conditions.
The SEC’s announcement comes after last month’s brief altcoin rotation and could pave the way for increased institutional involvement. While institutions have shown interest in Ethereum, many remained cautious about participating in DeFi yield opportunities due to regulatory uncertainty.
Rebecca Rettig, a legal advisor for Jito, suggested the SEC’s clarification could open the door for liquid staking tokens to be considered for inclusion in exchange-traded products, a development that could significantly boost access to these assets.
With Ethereum’s staking and Layer-2 ecosystems gaining momentum, analysts are watching closely to see if this marks the beginning of a sustained altcoin rotation backed by regulatory support and real user adoption.
