Ethereum officially reached a new price peak on Friday, breaking a nearly four-year-old record, thanks to strong momentum from capital flows into ETF funds, a more favorable regulatory environment, and increasing interest from traditional financial institutions.
According to data from CoinGecko, the price of ETH rose 15% in just the past 24 hours, reaching $4,879, surpassing the previous record high of $4,878 set in November 2021. The second-largest cryptocurrency in the world by market capitalization has doubled in value in just the past two months, even outpacing Bitcoin as capital flows into trading ETFs surged.
Previously, ETH had approached a new peak on August 14 but then fell with the entire market, dropping below $4,100 earlier this week. However, the strong breakout on Friday occurred right after the 'dovish' remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, indicating the possibility of interest rate cuts in the near future. Just one hour after the speech, ETH surged nearly 8%, leading to strong upward momentum throughout the trading day.
ETF, Institutional Capital Flows, and New Momentum
Brian Huang, co-founder of the on-chain automation platform Glider, commented: “This is the golden moment for ETH. Record capital inflows into ETF funds, the emergence of large-scale ETH reserves, and successes from the ecosystem such as Circle's IPO and Bullish, or the new executive order from President Trump allowing digital assets in 401(k) retirement funds, have all created strong momentum. Powell's dovish speech was the final push.”
Moreover, the activity of Layer-2 solutions on Ethereum, such as Base, is growing rapidly, while ETH still dominates DeFi liquidity – nine times that of Solana, the second competitor. “We are still only at the early stages of a global ecosystem built on Ethereum,” Huang emphasized.
Last week, Ethereum spot ETF funds in the US recorded over $1 billion in capital inflow in just one day – a record since they began trading in July 2024. Ethereum funds are even outperforming Bitcoin in growth performance, despite facing stronger downward pressure during negative sessions.
The increase in demand also comes from companies focused on holding ETH. BitMine Immersion – a Bitcoin mining company – currently owns ETH worth over $7 billion, while SharpLink Gaming has purchased over $3.5 billion in ETH. This trend is likened to how MicroStrategy once 'pumped' Bitcoin to boost its stock price and has inspired many other businesses to expand into Ethereum, Solana, and BNB.
Ethereum – The Center of Digital Economic Trends
Strahinja Savic, Director of Data and Analytics at FRNT Financial, asserts: “The current demand for ETH is very real – from record ETF inflows to companies accumulating. Additionally, Ethereum is at the center of new financial trends such as the tokenization of traditional assets and stablecoins – areas that major financial institutions are particularly interested in.”
This month, Ethereum also benefited from clearer actions by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding staking. After a period of restrictions under the previous administration, President Donald Trump's administration allowed liquidity staking services to reward customers without needing SEC registration. Along with this, the newly passed GENIUS Act provides a legal framework for the issuance of stablecoins in the U.S. – a sector where Ethereum is the leading platform.
Samir Kerbage, Investment Director at Hashdex, stated: “The new peak of Ethereum is clear evidence of investment demand beyond Bitcoin. As the infrastructure for the most mature applications in the industry – from stablecoins to tokenization – we expect demand for ETH to continue to explode.”
Future Prospects: $5,000 – And Beyond?
In the Myriad Markets prediction market, the likelihood of ETH reaching $5,000 by 2025 has now risen to 85%. Standard Chartered Bank also raised its price target for ETH to $25,000 by 2028 last week, marking a complete turnaround from its negative forecast in March. “The outlook for ETH has improved significantly in recent months,” wrote Geoff Kendrick, Head of Global Digital Asset Research at the bank.
With strong momentum from institutional capital flows, the regulatory environment, and its central role in the emerging digital economy, Ethereum seems to have just begun its journey – and today’s new record may just be the starting point for the next peaks.
