The native token of the Ethereum blockchain, ETH, has reached its highest price of the year, at one point surpassing $4,500 on Tuesday. This surge marks a 4.85% increase for the day and a 40% gain since the start of the year. While ETH's all-time high of $4,878.26 was set in November 2021, its recent performance has outpaced Bitcoin on a year-to-date basis.
This price rally is attributed to several key factors. First, there's been a significant increase in so-called Ethereum treasury companies accumulating ETH, with their holdings recently surpassing $9 billion. One of the largest firms, BitMine, is seeking to expand its equity program to $24.5 billion to fund further ETH purchases.
Second, there's growing interest and investment in spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These funds have seen a substantial increase in their cumulative market cap, adding around $5 billion in the last month and recording their first-ever day with over $1 billion in net inflows.
Analysts, such as Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan, believe that this combined buying pressure from corporate treasuries and ETFs has created a "demand shock" for ETH, suggesting that the token's price could continue to climb.
August 2025, Cryptoniteuae