Ethereum Breaks $4,000 as Treasury Buying, ETF Inflows, and Record Network Activity Fuel Rally

Ethereum’s native token, ether, has surged past the $4,000 mark for the first time since December 2024, hitting an intraday peak of $4,344 before a slight pullback. The milestone comes after a powerful month-long rally that has lifted ETH by more than 50% in 30 days, including an 13.3% gain over the past week and 0.8% in the last 24 hours.

The move marks a sharp turnaround from earlier in 2025 when ETH lagged behind Bitcoin, even losing half its value against BTC during the fallout from President Donald Trump’s Liberation Day tariff announcements in April. Since bottoming at a 0.018 ETH/BTC ratio in late April, ether has staged a stunning comeback—rising 90% against bitcoin.

Institutional activity has played a pivotal role. Newly formed Ethereum treasury companies have collectively acquired billions of dollars in ETH, echoing Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin accumulation strategy. Meanwhile, U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs have seen an influx of nearly $5 billion in the past month alone, outperforming their Bitcoin ETF counterparts.

On-chain metrics are equally bullish. Ethereum recently set a new all-time high of 1.74 million daily transactions and notched its busiest month ever in July, with over 46 million transactions processed. Analysts say this increased activity had yet to be fully priced into ETH before the breakout.

With the SEC potentially greenlighting staking features for U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs, some traders see the rally as just beginning, with fresh catalysts on the horizon. Despite the surge, ETH remains about 18% below its all-time high of $4,867 from November 2021—leaving room for further upside if momentum continues.