Ethereum News Today: Ethereum surges 45% in a week to $3,616 as institutional buying intensifies

Ethereum's price has surged significantly in recent days, climbing from below $2,600 to a peak of $3,674 within a week. As of the latest update, the cryptocurrency is trading above the $3,600 mark at $3,616, following a 6% increase in the past 24 hours. However, traders are cautious about a potential short-term pullback due to the rapid price appreciation, which has left the market in an overheated state.

Analyst Michaël van de Poppe has flagged a potential pullback in his Ethereum price prediction, noting that the asset has gained over 45% in a week and moved far above its former supply zone at $2,800. This rapid ascent has triggered concerns about a possible exhaustion in buying momentum. According to van de Poppe's chart analysis, a correction of approximately 11.7% is likely, targeting the $3,150–$3,200 zone. He emphasized that the ETH price rally is vertical and has entered overbought territory on the Relative Strength Index (RSI), especially on the daily timeframe. Van de Poppe also highlighted that Fridays and Saturdays often present corrective phases after steep rallies, suggesting that a retracement could be imminent.

Despite the warning of a potential pullback, institutional accumulation of Ethereum has intensified. BlackRock's latest purchase of $547 million worth of ETH has surpassed its Bitcoin investment, which currently stands at $497 million. This disparity suggests that BlackRock is buying over five times more ETH than BTC when adjusted by market capitalization. Data from Arkham Intelligence revealed these figures, noting that Ethereum flows to BlackRock have increased since the beginning of July. At that time, the firm held $156 million in ETH and $125 million in BTC. The increase in ETH exposure coincides with Nasdaq’s proposal to allow staking in BlackRock’s Ethereum ETF, marking a key change in institutional strategy. Additional firms, such as SharpLink Gaming and Bitmine Technologies, have also raised their ETH holdings in recent weeks.

In parallel with BlackRock’s strategy, Ethereum ETFs recorded over $1.3 billion in net inflows across the last two trading sessions. This surge in ETF participation has provided additional support for Ethereum price action near $3,600. The ETF interest reflects broader sentiment in institutional corridors, where Ethereum’s staking potential and infrastructure upgrades are receiving renewed focus. Meanwhile, Nasdaq-listed Bit Digital has expanded its Ethereum treasury by acquiring 19,683 ETH through funds raised from a recent $67.3 million institutional offering. This new acquisition pushed the firm’s total ETH holdings to 120,306 ETH, currently valued at around $438 million.

Van de Poppe’s chart analysis also showed that Ethereum previously absorbed sell-side liquidity under $2,500 before launching the ongoing rally. That accumulation phase made the breakout possible, which means that ETH momentum is based on past demand. A pullback to $3,150 would align with previous resistance-turned-support and may offer a reaccumulation window. Additionally, van de Poppe earlier noted that the ETH/BTC ratio had bounced off a key support point, which was last seen in 2020. He suggested that this rebound may be an indication of a new rotation period when Ethereum will perform better than Bitcoin.