Ethereum surges over 8% to 2021 highs

Ethereum’s price surged sharply on Tuesday, reaching its highest level in several years as the cryptocurrency attracted increased investment and inflows.

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) focused on Ethereum saw unprecedented inflows on Monday, reflecting growing institutional interest and pushing the cryptocurrency closer to a new record high.

According to Farside Investors data, investors poured over $1 billion in cash into Ethereum ETFs on Monday, surpassing the previous single-day record of $726.6 million set in July.

The nine US-listed funds now collectively hold assets exceeding $10 billion. Of the approximately $1.019 billion in inflows on Monday, BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust ETF captured the largest share, about $640 million.

Ethereum touched $4,000 on Friday for the first time since last December, then climbed Tuesday afternoon to over $4,500 — its highest since late 2021. According to CoinGecko, the cryptocurrency is up about 26% in seven days and more than 50% over the past 30 days, now only 8% away from its all-time high of $4,878 set in 2021.

Users on the Myriad platform widely expect Ethereum to set a new record this year, giving it an 89% probability of doing so at the time of writing. (Note: Myriad Markets is a product of DASTAN, which owns Decrypt.)

The rally itself may be drawing investors to Ethereum ETFs, which in turn could fuel further gains.

Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, told Decrypt: “There was a moment where people saw the price going up and thought it was good.” He added, “Price reflects sentiment; if it goes up, people start inventing narratives.”

Balchunas noted that inflows into Ethereum funds have been “strong,” at a time when the cryptocurrency is becoming easier to understand thanks to growing interest in stablecoins. Last month, President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act, which establishes a regulatory framework for issuing these coins in the US.

“The narrative has become clearer with stablecoins,” Balchunas explained, noting that most ordinary people can grasp the idea of stablecoins and may like the concept of a digital dollar.

He credited Tom Lee of Fundstrat Global Advisors for shaping this narrative, highlighting Lee’s view that stablecoins are the best use case for Ethereum’s network — a perspective that has helped investors understand what sets the second-largest cryptocurrency by market value apart from Bitcoin and other major digital assets.

Lee has spoken frequently about Ethereum on CNBC, saying in June that the cryptocurrency was “coming back strong” and could be “the next Bitcoin,” with stablecoins as the “killer app” for its network. Although Lee is known for his long-term Bitcoin optimism, he now backs the treasury strategy of Nasdaq-listed BitMine Immersion, which is buying Ethereum heavily and currently holds $5 billion worth of it.

Other publicly listed companies and institutional investors have also begun buying the cryptocurrency. Ethereum entered traditional markets last year when the US Securities and Exchange Commission quietly approved ETFs that give investors exposure to its price.

Although these funds initially drew less interest compared to the historic launch of Bitcoin ETFs earlier in the year, they have seen increased adoption in recent months as Ethereum returns to the spotlight in the crypto market.

Ethereum’s network is used by developers to build crypto products, sometimes called decentralized applications or “dapps.” Stablecoins — now being developed by major banks and publicly traded companies — are described as faster, cheaper payment methods.

These digital tokens include USDC and Tether’s USDT, which often operate on Ethereum’s network.

Ethereum

In trading, Ethereum’s price jumped 8.6% to $4,587.5 at 21:25 GMT on CoinMarketCap.