Ethereum Drops 2.5% Amid Institutional ETF Surge

Ethereum's latest price was $4293.91, down 2.509% in the last 24 hours. Ethereum spot ETFs have attracted significant institutional interest, with net inflows of $1.08 billion between August 25 and 29. This surge was predominantly led by BlackRock’s ETHA, indicating a notable shift in institutional preference towards Ethereum. Other key players, including Fidelity and Grayscale, also recorded substantial inflows, further underscoring the growing institutional appeal of Ethereum. This institutional pivot is part of a broader trend where traditional financial players are increasingly favoring Ethereum over Bitcoin, impacting market dynamics and asset prices.

The financial implications of these inflows are substantial. Ethereum’s market value has seen a significant increase, reflecting its status as a leading digital asset. BlackRock’s CEO, Larry Fink, has described Ethereum as part of the digital infrastructure revolution, echoing sentiments that align with the protocol’s growing market perception. The inflows into Ethereum ETFs have elevated its status, positioning it as a key player in the digital asset landscape.

Ethereum will retire its largest public testnet, Holešky, in two weeks, with validators and infrastructure teams preparing to migrate to Hoodi. The closure streamlines testing into specialized lanes, reflecting the protocol’s more mature and segmented operational needs. The Ethereum Foundation’s Protocol Support team announced the formal two-week countdown to sunset the Holešky testnet, marking the end of one of the protocol’s largest public testing environments. This process will begin once the Fusaka upgrade finalizes on the network, forcing client teams to power down the vast majority of validator nodes. After this period, Holešky will enter a completely unsupported state, with no further maintenance or infrastructure provided by core development teams.

Launched in 2023, Holešky’s architecture was designed to support a massive validator set, enabling infrastructure providers and staking services to stress-test protocol upgrades like Dencun and Pectra under conditions that closely mimicked the mainnet. This scale was its greatest asset, providing an unparalleled environment to simulate the chaos and complexity of real-world validator operations before deploying changes to the live blockchain. However, prolonged inactivity leaks following the Pectra activation in early 2025 created a huge exit queue for validators, exposing a practical limitation: testing the full validator lifecycle in a timely manner had become increasingly difficult.

To address these challenges, the foundation introduced Hoodi in March 2025, a fresh testnet environment designed to handle validator operations efficiently while supporting all Pectra features and future upgrades, including Fusaka. The foundation has outlined a clear migration path for projects still operating on Holešky. Staking operators and node infrastructure providers are directed to transition their testing operations to Hoodi. Meanwhile, application and smart contract developers who had been using Holešky are advised to pivot to the Sepolia testnet, which remains the recommended environment for dApp and tooling development. Holešky’s retirement formalizes a new, streamlined triage of Ethereum testnets. The ecosystem will now lean on three specialized environments. These include Sepolia for general application development, Hoodi for large-scale validator and infrastructure testing, and Ephemery for focused, rapid validator lifecycle tests that reset every 28 days.

On-chain data analyst Yin Jianguo monitored a hacker address that sold 8,960 ETH in the past 50 minutes, exchanging it for 39.264 million DAI. The hacker withdrew 8,960 ETH from Tornado.Cash through 3 addresses, and these ETH are likely ones that the hacker had previously deposited into Tornado.Cash from other addresses. After withdrawing these 8,960 ETH from Tornado.Cash, they were immediately sold and exchanged for 39.264 million DAI within the past 50 minutes.

Ethereum exhibited notable market steadiness as September 2025 commenced. Observations indicated a pattern of stability emerged for Ethereum amidst broader market shifts characterizing the initial phase of the month, often colloquially referenced in relation to prevailing market movements. Market participants noted its relative steadiness alongside other major digital assets during this period. This behavior underscored Ethereum's position within the larger market context during early September dynamics.

The observed stability for Ethereum contrasted with some reported market trends affecting other major tokens during the same timeframe. Analysis focused on Ethereum's resilience during fluctuating periods, highlighting its established role despite evolving market sentiment. Discussions around digital assets frequently included Ethereum in the context of navigating broader market conditions, particularly during times attributed to shifts in institutional participation or broader economic signals influencing investor behavior.

While analysis explored potential market movements for Ethereum throughout the remainder of September 2025, the primary focus remained on its position relative to historic levels. Certain technical analysis suggested a proximity to significant thresholds, implying potential interest in its performance trajectory, independent of specific price levels. Broader ecosystem developments, including ongoing upgrades and network usage, contribute context to the observed market behavior.