The price of the second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum (ETH), rose 8.9% overnight to $3,452—its highest level since mid-January—according to CoinGecko. The rally was supported by record inflows into spot Ethereum ETFs. According to TradingView’s daily ETH/USD chart from Binance, price momentum has been significant. SoSoValue reported that net inflows into nine US spot Ethereum ETFs totaled $726.74 million on July 16, led by BlackRock’s ETHA, which accounted for $499 million of the total. Since the beginning of July, spot ETH ETFs have attracted $2.27 billion in net inflows, setting a one-month record since their launch, and signaling ongoing robust investor demand. BTC Markets analyst Rachel Lucas believes that Ethereum is increasingly being viewed as a long-term institutional asset rather than just a speculative instrument. She noted that funds already own 4% of the altcoin’s total capitalization, indicating a rapid influx of capital from major players. Nick Ruck, director at LVRG Research, attributed Ethereum’s momentum to the growing number of public companies investing in the cryptocurrency as a reserve asset. The expanding participation of institutional investors is contributing to market stability and enhancing Ethereum’s reputation as a reliable component in diversified digital asset portfolios. ConsenSys-backed firm SharpLink Gaming became the largest corporate holder of ETH with approximately 280,600 ETH, overtaking the Ethereum Foundation, according to data from the Strategic ETH Reserve. Amid Ethereum’s surge, other altcoins also gained: XRP rose 7.8%, Solana climbed 5.7%, and BNB increased by 4.2%, according to CoinGecko. Bitcoin added only 0.2% over the same period. The Bitcoin dominance index dropped by 2.59% over the week, down to 62.62%, according to TradingView. Lucas stated that a decline in this metric has historically preceded an “altcoin season.” Wave of Liquidations The rise in Ethereum’s price triggered forced liquidations of short positions totaling $177.67 million, as reported by Coinglass. These positions accounted for the majority of the $227.74 million in total crypto market liquidations over the past 24 hours. Losses for Bitcoin short sellers in the same period were just $45.33 million. Ethereum’s daily trading volume grew by 28% to $161 billion, surpassing that of Bitcoin ($109 billion). Open interest in Ethereum derivatives increased by 7%. Patrick Grun, founder of Perpetuals.com, believes that Ethereum’s price is highly sensitive to news regarding US regulation, which amplifies uncertainty and increases the asset’s volatility. According to him, the situation with Bitcoin has been comparatively more stable. Glassnode analysts reported that Ethereum is the only asset in the top 10 (other than stablecoins) with increasing daily futures trading volume, which grew by 27%. The financing rate remains neutral, indicating the emergence of new positions without signs of excessive leverage, experts concluded. Greg Magadini, director of derivatives at Amberdata, added that the rate was negative from April to June, suggesting a prevalence of short positions in the market during that time. Amid these developments, BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes announced the start of an “ETH season.” He stated that his venture fund Maelstrom plans to purchase tokens of “best-in-class” DeFi projects, seeing opportunities for strong performance compared to traditional markets.
