Ethereum News Today: Ethereum Surges 3% to $3,800 as Asia Drives Altcoin Season

Ethereum's price surged above $3,800, marking a nearly 3% daily gain and extending a robust upward trend that has seen the altcoin rise over 55% in the past month. This momentum underscores sustained investor confidence, despite relatively low gas fees across the network. Funding rates have entered double digits, although they remain modest compared to the broader scale of futures positioning and Ethereum ETF inflows. Asia has been a significant driver of this performance, particularly in ETH.

Data tracking ETH’s performance across trading sessions last week revealed Asia’s growing influence, which is responsible for the sharp weekend rally. Beyond speculative flows and treasury adoption, an increase in DeFi activity is also providing crucial support to the cryptocurrency’s upward momentum. Experts have noted emerging signals that suggest a potential altcoin season is taking shape. For instance, the associated indexes have crossed above 50, the highest since December.

ETH Perpetual Open Interest surged from under $18 billion to over $28 billion in a week, driven by institutional demand. The recently signed GENIUS Act, which sets clearer stablecoin regulations, has also renewed interest in ETH and other Layer 1s among Corporate Treasuries. The anticipation of staked spot ETH ETF approvals is prompting further institutional rotation from Bitcoin to Ethereum. ETH’s market share has risen to 11.6% while BTC dominance slips, which could indicate that a potential next leg for altcoin season is underway.

Swissblock’s data echoes this sentiment, showing that 75% of altcoins are currently testing key resistance levels, a technical point where altcoin seasons either begin or fail. In weak altseasons, Bitcoin remains strong, leading to only short-lived altcoin rallies with limited capital rotation into alts. Strong altseasons, however, require significant capital flow, characterized by Bitcoin losing relative strength, its dominance dropping, and altcoins breaking out broadly across the market.

Swissblock noted that the market is at this decision point now. Bitcoin’s momentum is slowing, and early signs of capital rotation into altcoins have begun, which means the conditions for a potential strong altseason are forming if capital flow accelerates further. This supportive environment, coupled with the growing influence of Asia in driving ETH’s performance, suggests that the cryptocurrency market is on the cusp of a significant shift.