Ethereum recently climbed above the $4,000 threshold for the first time in eight months, hitting an intraday peak of $4,055. This key psychological level places ETH roughly $900 shy of its all-time peak of $4,867 recorded back in November 2021.

Institutions and ETFs Fueling Price Surge

Over the past month, ETH has surged more than 44.5%, with a weekly gain of 7.9% and a 24-hour increase of 2.6%. Since late April, Ethereum’s growth has outpaced Bitcoin by around 90%.

Two major forces appear to be propelling this momentum: heightened accumulation by institutional investors and robust inflows into spot Ethereum ETFs.

Several corporations are rapidly amassing large quantities of ETH. BitMine tops the list with holdings exceeding 833,000 ETH (valued at $3.3 billion), followed by SharpLink holding nearly 522,000 ETH ($2.1 billion). Geoffrey Kendrick of Standard Chartered suggests these firms are “only beginning” and could eventually control up to 10% of Ethereum’s circulating supply.

Meanwhile, U.S.-based spot Ethereum ETFs have attracted massive net inflows, even outpacing Bitcoin ETFs recently. In the last 30 days, these products drew close to $5 billion, contributing to a total net inflow of $9.4 billion since their launch in July 2024.

Market analyst Cas Abbé recently pointed out a large “whale” trade where an investor purchased 10,400 ETH, worth $40.5 million, via an over-the-counter (OTC) transaction.

This follows Fundamental Global Inc.’s filing for a $5 billion stock offering aimed at acquiring additional ETH, underscoring strong institutional demand.

> “ETH is continuing to outperform BTC. Just today, a whale scooped up 10,400 ETH valued at $40.5 million in an OTC deal. Yesterday, Fundamental Global Inc proposed a $5 billion ETH purchase. The $4,000 resistance for $ETH won’t hold for long.”

Bitcoin’s Market Share Shrinks as Altcoins Gain Traction

Ethereum’s rise coincides with a noticeable drop in Bitcoin dominance, which now holds about 59% of the overall crypto market—signaling a shift in capital flows from BTC to altcoins like ETH.

Prominent trader and analyst Rekt Capital shared on X that “Ethereum dominance is about 50-60% through the macro uptrend,” drawing parallels to the surge seen in 2021.

He forecasts that Bitcoin dominance might temporarily rebound but anticipates it will eventually enter a prolonged downward trend, paving the way for an extended “altcoin season” marked by significant altcoin appreciation versus Bitcoin.