Ethereum (ETH) broke through the $2,500 barrier on Friday, reaching its strongest price level since mid-April following an 8% daily advance. The second-largest cryptocurrency posted gains of 26.4% over a seven-day window, moving past a prolonged period during August where it remained confined below the $2,000 mark.
United States spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds served as a primary catalyst for the movement. These investment vehicles gathered $512.4 million in net inflows across four consecutive days, including $220.7 million on Thursday. Additionally, the Coinbase Premium Index exhibited an upward trajectory, pointing to strengthening demand from US-based participants.
The upward price movement triggered extensive losses for bearish traders. Short position liquidations reached $265 million in a single 24-hour span and totaled $1.69 billion over a three-day period. Within one day, $237.44 million in short contracts were forcibly closed, generating additional upward pressure through mandatory buying.
Derivatives activity expanded alongside the spot market rally, with futures open interest climbing to $31.79 billion and daily futures trading volume reaching $94.42 billion. Binance led trading volumes at $26.82 billion, followed by OKX at $14.20 billion. The Binance ETH/USDT long/short ratio stood at 2.4, showing that long positions outnumbered short exposure by more than two to one.
Technical indicators showed overbought conditions, with the Relative Strength Index at 87 and the Stochastic Oscillator at 99, while Ethereum traded comfortably above its 20, 50, 100, and 200-day exponential moving averages. Market participants have identified $3,000 as the next significant price objective and resistance level, requiring roughly a 23% increase from previous peak values.
