Driven by a new wave of institutional interest and record inflows into ETH-focused treasury bonds and ETFs, Ethereum's price surged above $3,900 on Friday.
Bitcoin price briefly touched $3,952 before retreating to around $3,909 at 2:20 AM ET. Analysts believe Bitcoin may be close to hitting the $4,000 mark.
The recent increase was triggered after SharpLink Gaming issued $200 million in stock, with the company stating that it would use the funds to expand its Ethereum reserves. Once deployed, the new ETH reserves could push SharpLink's holdings to over $2 billion, making it one of the largest corporate holders of the asset.
The company revealed that four institutional investors have committed to subscribe to SharpLink's stock at a market price of $19.50 per share. According to BuyBitcoinWorldwide, SharpLink's existing ETH reserves exceed 521,000 coins, currently valued at over $2 billion.
Fundamental Global focuses on Ethereum, submitting a $5 billion application, as the company's holdings surge.
Additionally, Fundamental Global has submitted a $5 billion suspended registration application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to establish a proprietary fund focused on ETH. The company joins a growing number of firms betting on Ethereum as a balance sheet asset.
Bitmine Immersion Technologies remains the largest public holder of coins, holding 833,133 ETH, valued at $3.27 billion. Coinbase holds about 136,000 ETH, while other U.S. companies like Bit Digital and BTCS rank in the top five. A total of 17 listed companies currently hold over 1.74 million ETH, valued at nearly $6.9 billion.
Buterin believes U.S. Treasury bonds have value, but there are potential liquidation risks.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has a cautiously optimistic view of this trend. In a recent podcast, he stated that ETH treasury bonds provide a "valuable service" by offering investors more channels and flexibility. However, he warned that irresponsible management and aggressive leverage could lead to severe liquidation.
"If you wake me up three years from now and tell me that U.S. debt led to the collapse of ETH, then, of course, I would guess the reason is basically that they somehow turned it into a game of excessive leverage," Buterin said.
BlackRock's ETHA saw a single-day inflow of $100 million, with assets surpassing $11 billion.
Meanwhile, inflows into ETH ETFs listed in the U.S. have reached record levels. SoSoValue data shows that the cumulative net inflow of funds from issuers such as BlackRock, Grayscale, and Fidelity has reached $9.35 billion. The BlackRock-supported ETHA ETF alone attracted over $100 million in funds on Thursday, pushing its net assets over $11 billion.
Grayscale's primary ETH trust currently has a net asset size of $25.1 billion, with a single-day price increase of over 5%. As investor interest grows, Bitwise, VanEck, and Franklin are also seeing modest but steady inflows.
Delta Exchange research analyst Riya Sehgal pointed out that high trading volume indicates strong buying interest, driving the price above $3,900.
She told Cryptonews: "With ETF inflows of $222.3 million and Ethereum's dominance rising to over 12%, the market is clearly seeing funds shift from Bitcoin to ETH. As long as Ethereum stays above $3,840, the short-term outlook remains bullish, with the next potential target area being $4,000-$4,050."
With ETF liquidity accelerating and corporate bond sizes expanding, the market currently seems ready to end the quarter strongly.
Traders are focusing on the $4,000 resistance level, viewing it as the next key milestone for Ethereum's momentum-driven run.
