Ethereum Crosses $4K After SEC Clears Liquid Staking, Triggers Broad-Based DeFi and L2 Rally

ETH Surges Past $4K as SEC Clarity on Liquid Staking Ignites Staking and Layer-2 Rally

Clear guidance from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding liquid staking has triggered a broad rally across Ethereum’s ecosystem, lifting ETH above $4,000 for the first time since December.

The announcement has sparked significant interest in Ethereum staking protocols and Layer-2 scaling solutions, which have posted double-digit gains over the past week. Optimism’s native token (OP) rose 8% over the past day, extending its weekly gain to 13%, while Blast gained 6.3% in the same period.

Mantle (MNT), which uses optimistic rollups to scale Ethereum transactions, led the rally with a staggering 50% gain over the past week, emerging as the top-performing Layer-2 asset.

The broader staking sector also saw notable upside. Lido DAO (LDO) jumped 12.3%, and EtherFi (ETHFI) rose 5.4% in the past 24 hours, outpacing the overall crypto market.

The SEC’s clarification is viewed as a turning point for institutional participation in decentralized finance. Previously, many large investors hesitated to engage with yield-bearing crypto assets due to regulatory ambiguity. With this new clarity, capital may increasingly flow into liquid staking products.

Jito Network’s legal advisor Rebecca Rettig suggested that liquid staking tokens may now be positioned for inclusion in exchange-traded products (ETPs) or ETFs — a move that could open the floodgates to mainstream adoption.

This regulatory breakthrough follows last month’s brief altcoin rotation, but the latest surge appears more structurally supported, with investor sentiment increasingly favoring Ethereum-native protocols and decentralized staking strategies.