Ethereum went on an absolute tear in July 2025, surging by over 50% higher to a monthly adjusted price of $3,848.94. This surge didn’t happen in a vacuum though. Especially since it lined up almost perfectly with the U.S Congress passing and the President signing the first real piece of crypto law in the United States – The “Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins” or GENIUS Act.
The big question now – Was this just a classic “buy the rumor, sell the news” moment, or did something fundamental just shift?
Digging into the law itself, the blockchain data, and the price charts reveals a messy, but fascinating story. The GENIUS Act was almost certainly the spark, but a mix of other powerful forces turned it into an inferno.
DC lights the fuse
For a market starved of good news from Washington, the GENIUS Act (S. 1582) was a godsend. Signed into law by Donald Trump on 18 July 2025, the bill finally brings some rules to the wild west of stablecoins. It demands that issuers back their coins one-to-one with cash or short-term government debt and sets up a system for them to get licensed.
Even though the law isn’t about Ethereum directly, the market went wild. Why? Because nearly all stablecoin action happens on Ethereum’s network. Traders took the bill as a massive green light, signaling that the ecosystem is here to stay.
The timeline tells the story –
- 17 June 2025 – The Senate clears the GENIUS Act, 68-30. In the following days, ETH begins its slow crawl up from the month’s lows.
- 17 July 2025 – The House passes the bill in a 308-122 vote. That same day, Ethereum shot up from an open of $3,330.74 to a peak of $3,624.62.
- 18 July 2025 – Trump’s signature makes it official. ETH holds its new ground, closing the day at $3,583.18.
Whales & exchange drains – Money was already moving
The smart money seemed to smell blood in the water long before the final votes. In fact, blockchain data revealed that the big players were getting ready.
You could almost see the blips on the radar as crypto’s biggest players started moving. During a two-week stretch in June while the bill was making noise in the Senate, Ethereum whales bought up more than 500,000 ETH. The buying spree didn’t stop in July. One whale famously snagged $50 million in ETH over a single weekend.
Meanwhile, exchanges have been getting emptier. The amount of ETH flowing into major exchanges hit its lowest level since late 2024. With people pulling 3.8 million ETH off these platforms in 2025 alone, the message was clear – People were holding, not selling. This choked off the available supply.
The network itself was also pulling in new people. The number of fresh Ethereum addresses created each week jumped to almost 1 million in 2025, up about a third from the year before, proving the network was growing even when the price was flat.
Momentum vs. exhaustion
In fact, the charts seemed to paint a picture of a bull in a full sprint – Maybe too full.
Despite a brief bout of depreciation over the last few days, there’s no denying the long-term uptrend on the charts.
Source: TradingView
At the time of writing, the altcoin was priced at $3,638 on the charts. Despite its recent bearishness, it was very evident that ETH had climbed by 150% since its summer low back in April. Its uptrend was highlighted by the findings of its technical indicators. For example – The moving average was positioned right under the price candles, while the MACD Line was well above the Signal line too.
There may be red flags ahead though. Especially since a bearish crossover seemed to be on the horizon.
A perfect storm, not a solo act
Blaming this whole rally on one bill would be missing the forest for the trees. The GENIUS Act was the trigger, but the ground was already soaked in gasoline from other developments.
The House’s “Crypto Week” in July also pushed through the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act. This legislative triple-threat sent a powerful message that the political winds in D.C. were shifting in crypto’s favor.
Then there’s the elephant in the room – Spot Ethereum ETFs. These funds saw a flood of cash in July 2025, with a staggering $727 million pouring in on a single day. Analysts at Bernstein quickly connected the dots, noting that the GENIUS Act creates the regulated, stable foundation these institutional products need to thrive.
New Game – Institutional DeFi
The real, long-term earthquake from the GENIUS Act might be how it reshapes DeFi for big money.
One small, but critical part of the law forbids paying interest on stablecoin balances. This sounds boring, but it’s a huge deal. Suddenly, institutions holding billions in stablecoins can’t just let them sit there and earn nothing. They have a duty to find a return on that capital. Where do they go? Straight to yield-generating DeFi protocols on Ethereum. This could turn the “stablecoin summer” into a full-blown “DeFi summer” led by institutions.
More demand for DeFi means more organic demand for ETH, the asset needed to pay transaction fees and for staking.
The smoke from July’s fireworks is still clearing, but the ground beneath Ethereum feels a lot more solid. Regulatory headaches are fading, and the door for serious institutional money in DeFi seems to have been kicked wide open.