Ethereum Price Smashes Through $4,000 as Altcoin Buzz Builds
Ethereum has blasted past the $4,000 barrier for the first time in eight months, hitting an intraday high of $4,055. The move edges the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency closer to its all-time peak of $4,867, recorded back in November 2021.
The climb is fast. Sharp. And it’s not just retail traders driving the push.
Institutions Jump In, and Big
The Ethereum price has jumped more than 44% over the past month, with gains of nearly 8% this week alone. Since April, ETH has surged around 90% compared to Bitcoin, marking one of its most aggressive rallies in recent memory.
Two forces appear to be fuelling this charge, heavyweight institutional buying and a surge in demand for spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Corporations are piling in. BitMine now holds over 833,000 ETH, roughly $3.3 billion, while SharpLink owns close to 522,000 ETH, valued at $2.1 billion.
Standard Chartered’s Geoffrey Kendrick believes this could be just the beginning, warning that institutions could end up owning as much as 10% of all ETH in existence.
ETF flows are equally striking. In the US, spot Ethereum ETFs have seen inflows of almost $5 billion in the past month, even outpacing their Bitcoin equivalents. Since launching in July 2024, they’ve pulled in a combined $9.4 billion.
Market analyst Cas Abbé pointed out a particularly bold move when a so-called “whale” snapped up 10,400 ETH, worth $40.5 million, in a private over-the-counter trade.
This came right after a heavyweight play by Fundamental Global Inc., which announced a $5 billion shelf offering to buy more ETH.
“$ETH continues to outperform $BTC. Just today, a whale bought 10.4K ETH worth $40.5 million via OTC. Yesterday, Fundamental Global Inc. filed a $5 billion shelf offering to buy more ETH. It feels like the $4K ETH resistance won’t be there for long.”
Bitcoin Loses Grip, Altcoin Season Ahead?
As ETH rises, Bitcoin’s dominance has slipped to around 59%, hinting at a capital shift into altcoins. Traders smell opportunity.
Popular crypto commentator Rekt Capital shared on X that “Ethereum Dominance is already ~50-60% of the way in its Macro Uptrend,” likening it to the 2021 bull cycle.
His forecast? Bitcoin might stage a short-term recovery, but longer term, its dominance could enter “a long-term technical downtrend.” If he’s right, a full-blown altcoin season could be brewing, and Ethereum may be leading the charge.
With the ethereum price breaking key psychological levels and whales circling, all eyes now turn to whether $4,000 will hold or be left in the dust.
