Ethereum's base asset has surpassed $4,000 for the first time in eight months, reaching a daily high of $4,055. This important psychological milestone brings the cryptocurrency closer to its all-time high of $4,867, set in November 2021.
Institutions and ETFs Drive Significant Price Surge
$ETH has seen a strong increase, rising over 44.5% in the past month. The asset has increased 7.9% in the past week and 2.6% in the previous 24 hours. Since April 21, $ETH has increased approximately 90% compared to Bitcoin.
There seem to be two main factors driving the recent price increase: growing accumulation from institutions and strong inflows into spot Ethereum ETFs.
An increasing number of companies have actively purchased billions of dollars worth of $ETH. BitMine leads with over 833,000 $ETH (3.3 billion USD), followed by SharpLink with nearly 522,000 $ETH (2.1 billion USD). Geoffrey Kendrick from Standard Chartered suggests these companies are "just getting started" and may ultimately hold up to 10% of total $ETH.
Spot Ethereum ETFs in the US have seen significant net inflows, even surpassing Bitcoin ETFs in recent weeks. These products have attracted nearly 5 billion USD in just the past month. They have contributed substantially to the total net inflow of 9.4 billion USD since beginning trading in July 2024.
Market observer Cas Abbé highlighted a "whale" transaction where an investor purchased 10.4K $ETH, valued at 40.5 million USD, through an over-the-counter (OTC) deal.
This was followed by another significant move from Fundamental Global Inc., which filed to offer 5 billion USD to purchase additional $ETH, further demonstrating strong institutional appetite.
"$ETH continues to outperform $BTC. Just today, a whale bought 10.4K $ETH worth 40.5 million USD via OTC. Yesterday, Fundamental Global Inc filed to offer 5 billion USD to buy more $ETH. It feels like $ETH's $4,000 resistance won't last long."
Bitcoin Dominance Declines as Altcoin Season Approaches
$ETH's increase has coincided with a significant decline in Bitcoin's dominance, with Bitcoin's market share in the total cryptocurrency market dropping to around 59%. This shift indicates capital movement from Bitcoin to altcoins, including Ethereum.
Famous trader and analyst Rekt Capital noted on X that "Ethereum's dominance has reached around 50-60% in its macro uptrend," comparing it to the previous price increase in 2021.
He predicts that Bitcoin's dominance might temporarily recover. However, he also suggests it will ultimately "transition into a long-term technical downtrend." This analysis points to potential for an "altcoin season" where altcoins could achieve significant gains compared to Bitcoin.
