Ethereum Breaks $4,000: Altcoin Season to Come?

Ethereum’s native asset crossed the $4,000 level for the first time in eight months, reaching an intraday high of $4,055. This key psychological milestone brings the cryptocurrency within approximately $900 of its all-time high of $4,867, set in November 2021.

Institutions and ETFs Fuel Price Surge

ETH has seen a significant rally, climbing over 44.5% in the last month. The asset is up 7.9% over the past week and 2.6% during the previous 24 hours. Since April 21, ETH has gained roughly 90% against Bitcoin.

There seem to be two main factors that fueled the recent rally: a surge in institutional accumulation and robust inflows into spot Ethereum ETFs.

A growing number of companies have been aggressively acquiring billions of dollars worth of ETH. BitMine leads the charge with over 833,000 ETH ($3.3 billion), followed by SharpLink with nearly 522,000 ETH ($2.1 billion). Standard Chartered’s Geoffrey Kendrick suggests that these firms are “just getting started” and could eventually hold up to 10% of all ETH.

US spot Ethereum ETFs have seen substantial net inflows, even surpassing their Bitcoin ETF counterparts in recent weeks. These products have attracted nearly $5 billion in the last month alone. They contributed significantly to the total net inflow of $9.4 billion since they began trading in July 2024.

The market observer Cas Abbé highlighted a “whale” transaction where an investor bought 10.4K ETH, worth $40.5 million, via an over-the-counter (OTC) deal.

This was preceded by another significant move from Fundamental Global Inc., which filed a $5 billion shelf offering to acquire more ETH, further signaling strong institutional appetite.

“$ETH continues to outperform $BTC. Just today, a whale bought 10.4K ETH worth $40.5 million via OTC. Yesterday, Fundamental Global Inc filed a $5 billion shelf offering to buy more ETH. It feels like the $4K ETH resistance won’t be there for long.”

Bitcoin Dominance Declines as Altcoin Season Looms

The rise of ETH has coincided with a notable decline in Bitcoin dominance, with Bitcoin’s share of the total crypto market falling around 59%. This shift suggests a rotation of capital from Bitcoin into altcoins, including Ethereum.

Popular trader and analyst Rekt Capital noted on X that “Ethereum Dominance is already ~50-60% of the way in its Macro Uptrend,” drawing a comparison to the previous bull run in 2021.

He forecasted that Bitcoin dominance could temporarily rebound. He also said, however, that it will eventually “transition into a long-term technical downtrend.” This analysis points to the potential for a broader “altcoin season,” where altcoins see significant gains relative to Bitcoin.