Ethereum (ETH) has just surpassed the $3,000 mark for the first time in weeks, rising more than 7% in just the last 24 hours. Regaining this level indicates that more and more investors are returning to the market, increasing the likelihood of a continued bullish trend in the near future.
At the time of writing, ETH has recorded a significant increase in market liquidity. With no strong resistance immediately ahead, this asset could climb to new highs.
Liquidity surge on CME confirms strong buying power.
According to data from Glassnode, open interest (OI) on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has surged, measured by the 7-day simple moving average (SMA).
Specifically, OI has surged to $3.27 billion – the highest since February 2, 2025. This increasing trend is a clear indicator that institutional money is flowing into the market more and more.
The article also analyzed Ethereum spot ETF funds (ETH) based on CoinGlass data to determine whether institutional investors are allocating more capital to this asset.
It is noteworthy that institutional traders have been quite active. Just in the past 24 hours, they purchased ETH worth 211 million dollars from the market.
This is the largest purchase in a single day since June 6, when over 240 million dollars were spent to buy ETH – further fueling the ongoing price surge.
Is there a clear path ahead for ETH?
With increasing buying pressure – especially from institutions, ETH is currently facing almost no resistance ahead.
According to data from IntoTheBlock's In/Out of the Money Around Price (IOMAP) tool, there are only two notable resistance levels left, with corresponding selling volumes of 3.44 million and 3.42 million ETH.
These resistance levels have relatively low volume according to the IOMAP chart and range from $3,222 to $4,816. Limited selling pressure suggests that ETH may continue its upward momentum with few corrections, especially if liquidity continues to increase.
Additionally, data from CryptoQuant shows that retail investors seem to be holding ETH instead of transferring it to exchanges. The number of addresses depositing ETH on centralized exchanges has now decreased to 23,000 and continues to trend downwards.
This behavior indicates that less and less ETH is being sent to exchanges as before, as investors choose the self-custody option – a signal often seen as positive.
Exchange reserves are rising – Should investors be concerned?
However, not all market indicators are optimistic at the moment. A cautious factor is the increasing Exchange Reserves index despite the overall bullish trend.
In the past 24 hours, the total amount of ETH held on centralized exchanges has increased to 18.9 million ETH.
The continued increase in ETH balances on exchanges may signal the risk of demand tightening – meaning supply exceeds demand, which could lead to a price drop. However, with the number of addresses sending ETH still decreasing, the risk of a current demand tightening seems low.
Currently, the increased buying activity (especially from institutional investors) remains the main driver supporting ETH's upward trend and mitigating the negative impact from the rising reserves.