Ethereum News Today: Institutional Bet Shifts Ethereum to New Power Player

Ethereum experienced a sharp price surge, surpassing $4,800 and triggering over $388 million in liquidations, the largest among all crypto assets in the last 24 hours. This liquidation figure was part of a broader $769 million in market-wide liquidations that affected more than 183,000 traders. A single $10 million ETH swap on OKX marked the largest individual loss, highlighting the scale of position closures during this period [1].

The price movement was driven in part by comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole symposium, where he indicated potential rate cuts in September. The dovish signal reduced borrowing costs and encouraged risk-on sentiment across financial markets, including crypto. Ethereum's surge of almost 15% brought it close to a new all-time high, while Bitcoin lagged with a 4% gain. The CoinDesk 20 Index also climbed 9% as institutional allocations and treasury purchases added tailwinds to Ethereum's rally [1].

Ethereum's dominance in the liquidations can be attributed to the token's growing utility beyond a speculative asset. Analysts suggest that institutional adoption has transformed ETH into a preferred blockchain asset for stablecoins, tokenization, and smart contracts. Institutional buying and treasury allocations have reinforced this narrative, with major firms like BitMine, SharpLink, and Bit Digital acquiring significant ETH holdings over the past month [4].

Institutional inflows into Ethereum-based products further underscored the asset’s increasing appeal. US spot Ether ETFs drew $287.6 million in net inflows on Thursday, ending a four-day outflow streak. BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) led the inflows with $233.5 million, while Fidelity’s Ethereum Fund (FETH) followed with $28.5 million. The cumulative net inflow into these funds now exceeds $12 billion, signaling renewed investor confidence and a shift in capital from Bitcoin to altcoins [5].

Ethereum’s rally has also coincided with a decline in Bitcoin’s market dominance, which fell below 60% for the first time in four months. This shift indicates a broader rotation into alternative cryptocurrencies, with Ethereum capturing a significant portion of this capital. Ethereum-focused investment products attracted $2.86 billion in the week ending Aug. 15, surpassing Bitcoin’s $552 million in the same period [4].

Despite the bullish momentum, some analysts expressed caution. Ethereum’s technical indicators, including the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and on-balance volume (OBV), showed signs of bearish divergence, raising concerns about potential short-term corrections. A head-and-shoulders pattern was also noted, suggesting that traders should avoid FOMO buying at these levels. However, others remained optimistic, projecting Ethereum could break out of an ascending triangle pattern with targets above $10,000 if momentum holds [6].

The growing influence of Ethereum was further reflected in the broader crypto ecosystem. Layer 2 solutions like Arbitrum and Optimism continue to expand, reducing gas fees and enhancing scalability. This infrastructure growth, combined with institutional adoption, supports the argument that Ethereum's valuation could be sustained at higher levels over the long term. The price prediction models for Ethereum point to $5,200–$5,400 as the next key resistance zone, with $10,000 increasingly seen as a realistic target if the current trends continue [6].

Source:

[1] ETH Price Prediction: Traders Target $10K ETH Amid $400... (https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/08/23/ethereum-bets-see-unusually-high-usd400m-liquidations-as-some-now-target-usd10k-eth)

[2] Ethereum Bets See Unusually High $400M Liquidations as... (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ethereum-bets-see-unusually-high-064733802.html)

[3] Ethereum Shorts Crushed: $259M Lost as Price Nears ATH (https://99bitcoins.com/news/altcoins/ethereum-shorts-crushed-259m-lost-as-price-nears-ath/)

[4] ETH Soars To New All-time High On Fed Rate Cut Signal (https://cointelegraph.com/news/eth-hits-new-highs-as-fed-turns-dovish-ether-etf-inflows-resume)

[5] BlackRock leads $287M spot Ether ETF inflows after 4-day... (https://cointelegraph.com/news/spot-ether-etfs-287m-inflows-blackrock-fidelity-eth-reserves)

[6] Ethereum Nears $4900 as $12.7B ETF Inflows and Fed... (https://bravenewcoin.com/insights/ethereum-eth-price-prediction-ethereum-nears-4900-as-12-7b-etf-inflows-and-fed-policy-fuel-10k-rally-hopes)