Things are looking pretty good for Ethereum enthusiasts right now. That’s because the Ethereum price has increased to nearly US$400 once again. It is only the third time in history the price of this altcoin has come even close to this level. Whether or not the Ethereum price will remain above US$400 for much longer this time around remains to be determined, though.

Ethereum Price Approaches All-time High

The year 2017 has been incredibly bullish for Ethereum and most other cryptocurrencies. After a slow start to the year, things finally shifted into high gear in June. At that time, the Ethereum price peaked at US$400 for the very first time in history. However, the momentum didn’t last long, as Bitcoin turned into a demolisher of altcoin prices not long afterward.

With the initial elation subsiding pretty quickly, the Ethereum price took a nasty dip all the way down to US$155 and change. This was considered a major setback for Ethereum, even though it created an excellent buy opportunity for those who had missed the initial boat. Everyone knew it was only a matter of time before the Ethereum price returned to the US$400 level, although it has taken a while. More specifically, there was one run-up to US$400 in September, but it ultimately topped out at US$383.

With the new uptrend in place as of today, a lot of interesting things are bound to happen in the Ethereum department. The price now has a far better chance of surpassing US$400 than in the past, but the question is whether or not this trend is temporary or permanent. Price stability is rarely a given in the world of cryptocurrency, and altcoins struggle in this area even more than Bitcoin does at times. Should the Ethereum price stay above US$400 for an extended period of time, we might even see a run-up to US$500 before the year is over.

Thanks to US$1.34 billion worth of trading volume over the past 24 hours, things are looking pretty good for Ethereum. There is more than enough demand to keep this price trend intact for a little while longer. We might see a temporary pullback toward US$380, though, as that appears to be a stable support level for the time being. Profit-taking will set in when magical round numbers are hit, and there will be a fair amount of volatility once US$400 starts turning into a new support level.

Like pretty much every altcoin rising in value this week, most of the daily Ethereum trading volume comes from Bithumb. This Korean exchange is dominating all altcoin markets right now, as no other trading platforms come even close. Right now, Bithumb has a US$44 million lead over Bitfinex, which is the only other exchange generating over US$100 million in trading volume for Ethereum. It’s an interesting race, but it seems evident the Koreans will win in the end.

How all of this will evolve for the Ethereum price in the coming days and weeks remains to be seen. There is a lot of positive momentum in the market right now, but it seems all currencies are competing for volume as we speak. Bitcoin Cash is clearly dominating right now, but Ethereum is putting up a valiant fight. There is also Litecoin to keep an eye on, and neither Dash nor Monero is finished going up in value either. A very exciting end of the week is ahead; that much is certain.