Ethereum hits a new high after 1,384 days. Where is the next milestone?

Ethereum reached a new all-time high of $4,887 after 1,384 days, driven by a convergence of macroeconomic shifts, institutional adoption, and supportive regulatory developments.

Macroeconomic Tailwinds: A significant catalyst was the Federal Reserve's increasingly dovish stance, with market expectations for a September interest rate cut rising to nearly 90%. This shift improves liquidity and boosts risk assets like Ethereum.
Institutional and Corporate Adoption: A major change in this cycle is the emergence of corporate treasuries holding ETH. Companies like SharpLink Gaming and Bitmine are acquiring large amounts, with 17 known institutions now holding 1.75 million ETH worth ~$7.5 billion. The strategy is attractive due to potential price appreciation and a native staking yield of over 3%.
ETF Inflows Surpass Bitcoin: Ethereum spot ETFs have seen massive inflows, accumulating over $2 billion since July 4th. In a key signal, ETH ETF inflows ($461 million) recently surpassed those of Bitcoin ETFs ($404 million) on a single day, indicating strong institutional demand.
Regulatory Clarity and Policy Shifts: Unprecedented policy support is providing a clear runway for growth. This includes clearer accounting treatment for staking rewards, the advancement of stablecoin bills that benefit Ethereum's network, and a broader regulatory shift encouraging DeFi innovation. A landmark move was a Trump executive order allowing U.S. 401(k) retirement accounts to invest in cryptocurrencies, opening the door for trillions in potential long-term capital.

This new high represents more than a price milestone; it signifies Ethereum's evolving narrative into a sovereign institutional asset class with fundamental drivers for sustained growth.

Written by: Rhythm BlockBeats

After 1,384 days, Ethereum finally reached its new high in this cycle.

On August 23, after the Federal Reserve's Powell's heavy "dovish" speech the night before, expectations for a September interest rate cut increased significantly, and US dollar assets rose across the board. A few hours later, Ethereum rose 14% to $4,887, setting a record high in its 11-year history. Its market value exceeded $586 billion, ranking 25th in the world's technology companies by total market value, higher than world-renowned companies such as Mastercard and Netflix.

 ETH historical price chart; Source: TradingView

If Bitcoin completed its transition from a retail asset to an institutional asset in the last cycle, then Ethereum's current breakthrough to a new high may mark the beginning of its own "sovereignty narrative moment." Tom Lee, Wall Street's Ethereum "call guru," likens this strategic layout to a "sovereignty call option"—when Ethereum is widely adopted in global financial and AI infrastructure, companies holding significant stakes will be in a unique position.

Sean McNulty, head of derivatives trading for Asia Pacific at digital asset prime brokerage FalconX Ltd, said the flow of funds from Bitcoin to Ethereum constituted a "massive positive sentiment shift driven by strong spot ETF inflows, growing corporate treasury adoption and broader stablecoin tailwinds."

This statement perfectly summarizes why Ethereum is reaching new highs at this moment. Its late arrival isn't an absence, but rather a process of waiting—waiting for sentiment and funding, policy and technology to converge at the right time. Now, that moment has finally arrived. For Ethereum, this isn't just a price leap; it's a shift in narrative.

Expectations of interest rate cuts increase

The shift in the macro environment has become the key driving force behind Ethereum's breakthrough to a new high. As the U.S. job market continues to weaken and core inflation gradually declines, market bets on the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates this year have significantly increased.

Behind this trend lie the signals released by Federal Reserve officials in their recent flurry of statements. At the Jackson Hole symposium, Powell made a rare admission that the balance of risks is shifting—inflation risks remain, but pressure from deteriorating employment is rapidly increasing. Under these dual pressures, the focus of monetary policy has begun to shift from "maintaining high interest rates" to "moderate easing."

The market reacted swiftly. CME's "FedWatch" tool indicates a near-90% probability of a 25 basis point rate cut in September. For risky assets, this not only signals lower funding costs and improved liquidity, but also signals a policy turning point. Combined with institutional buying and Ethereum's shifting narrative, many traders view ETH's new highs as a cyclical turning point, rather than simply a technical breakthrough.

Listed companies are buying, buying, buying!

If there are any changes in the fundamentals of Ethereum this time, the biggest difference is that it has the same US stock company as Bitcoin MicroStrategy entering the market.

On May 27, 2025, Nasdaq-listed SharpLink Gaming announced a major strategic move, securing $425 million in financing through a private investment in equity (PIPE). The company plans to use the net proceeds to purchase Ethereum, making ETH its primary reserve asset. Notably, the lead investor in this transaction was Consensys Software Inc., the Ethereum infrastructure development company.

Since then, businesses and small public companies have increased their Ethereum allocations, with a growing number of Ethereum treasuries riding this upward trend. As of August 2025, according to Coingecko data, 17 companies/institutions currently hold 1,749,490 ETH, valued at approximately $7.5 billion. Bitmine, in a single month, acquired 833,000 ETH, representing nearly 1% of the global supply, solidifying its position as the world's largest publicly listed ETH treasury.

The underlying logic is that holding ETH not only benefits from potential appreciation but also offers a native yield of over 3% through PoS staking, generating long-term, sustainable financial returns. This differs from the simple price bets of Bitcoin's treasury strategy and is more akin to operating an infrastructure asset, offering both capital appreciation and cash flow. On August 10th, Ethereum co-founder and ConsenSys CEO Joe Lubin stated, "Treasury companies could potentially push ETH's market capitalization past BTC within a year."

Geoffrey Kendrick, global head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered Bank, said Ethereum Treasury is "very worthy of investment" today and is more attractive to investors than US spot Ethereum ETFs. Ethereum Treasury's net asset value (NAV) multiple—its market capitalization divided by the value of its ETH holdings—has "begun to normalize" and is expected to remain above 1, making it a better investment than US spot ETH ETFs.

Kendrick noted that since June, Ethereum fund managers have purchased 1.6% of all circulating ETH, a pace comparable to that of ETH ETFs during the same period. By August 15th, according to data from StrategyEthReserve, the combined holdings of Ethereum treasuries and ETFs exceeded 10 million ETH, representing approximately 8.3% of the current total supply.

Ethereum ETF inflows surpass Bitcoin

After a year, the Ethereum ETF has finally seen its peak in net inflows. According to Farside data, it has accumulated over $2 billion since July 4th, and quietly attracted $8.7 billion in inflows in its first full year of operation, reaching $15.6 billion in AUM. This sustained institutional buying has created a stable buying wall in the market.

A more important signal recently is that the amount of ETH bought by ETFs exceeds that of Bitcoin.

On August 8, the total inflow of funds into ETH ETFs was $461 million, while BTC only had $404 million. BlackRock bought $250 million in ETH, Fidelity bought $130 million in ETH, and Grayscale bought $60 million in ETH.

Unprecedented favorable policies

At the narrative level, Ethereum’s policy tailwinds do not just remain verbal promises, but are gradually transformed into institutional support.

The most direct change comes from the increasingly clear compliance path for ETH staking - some state regulators in the United States have begun to recognize the accounting treatment of staking income under a licensing framework, which means that institutions can disclose staking-related income more transparently in their financial reports.

At the same time, the successful advancement of a series of stablecoin bills has also provided growth expectations for large-scale stablecoins issued based on ETH (such as USDC and USDT). Their core provisions require reserve transparency, on-chain verifiability, and cross-state payment interoperability, which will directly strengthen Ethereum's central position in the stablecoin issuance and settlement network.

Of greater strategic significance is the "Project Crypto" initiative, jointly led by the SEC and the Treasury Department, which is shifting the regulatory framework from a defensive stance to one that encourages innovation in DeFi and blockchain-based financial products. Under this policy shift, Ethereum, with its dominant position in DeFi TVL (approximately 59.5% of the total network value) and stablecoin trading volume (approximately 50%), is naturally the first to benefit.

The moderate policy shift not only reduces the concerns of institutional investors, but also opens the door for long-term funds such as pensions and insurance funds to enter the market.

On August 7, 2025, a milestone destined to etch a lasting mark in American financial history was quietly passed. Trump signed an executive order officially allowing American 401(k) retirement savings accounts to invest in "alternative assets" including cryptocurrencies, private equity, and real estate. From then on, a fringe asset class once excluded from the mainstream financial system was officially included in the nation's nearly $9 trillion retirement plan.