Key takeaways:
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Ethereum has rebounded by over 250% from its April lows.
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Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s dovish stance is fueling the ETH price rally.
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Bitcoin’s crypto market share has dropped below 60% for the first time since March.
Ethereum’s native token, Ether (ETH), reached a new record high on Friday, crossing above $4,867 on Coinbase for the first time since November 2021.
Ether price is up 250% since April
ETH jumped by around 14% on Friday, just as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell raised the odds of a 25 basis point interest rate cut in September. That brought ETH’s gains to over 250% when compared to its April low at $1,385.
“The stability of the unemployment rate and other labor market measures allows us to proceed carefully as we consider changes to our policy stance,” Powell said during his speech at the Jackson Hole symposium on Friday, adding:
“Nonetheless, with policy in restrictive territory, the baseline outlook and the shifting balance of risks may warrant adjusting our policy stance.”
Powell’s dovish tilt signals looser liquidity ahead, a backdrop that typically bolsters demand for risk assets such as Ethereum.
ETH DATs keep stacking, and Powell turns dovish
Ether markets are further benefiting from renewed inflows into its US-based ETFs. On Aug. 21, these funds attracted $287.60 million worth of capital, after witnessing four days of outflows.
As of Friday, Ether ETFs were collectively managing over $12.12 billion worth of assets.
Ethereum has also gained significant momentum through growing ETH treasury adoption by corporations.
Over the past month, corporate Ethereum treasury firms have acquired roughly $1.6 billion worth of ETH, with BitMine, SharpLink, Bit Digital, BTCS, and GameSquare among the most active buyers.
As of Friday, these holdings had ballooned to over $29.75 billion, according to data resource StrategicETHReserve.xyz.
Ether is increasingly being viewed less as a speculative token and more as a utility-rich reserve asset, says Ray Youssef, CEO of finance app NoOnes.
Standard Chartered has upped its year-end ETH price target to $7,500 from $4,000 and $25,000 by 2028. Some analysts say that the ETH price can reach $13,000 in the coming months.
According to analysts at Hyblock, market demand for ETH is likely to continue outpacing available supply. They said,
“Usually, when you get to these all-time high levels (psychological levels), you see OGs from 2012-2015 selling, and if that selling/supply isn’t met with real demand, it forms tops. We sort of saw this in the previous price tops, but right now, even if that supply does exist, there is real demand to gobble that up. ETH inflows, treasury companies (BNMR, Sharplink, etc.), along with the Genius Acts’ tailwinds on Ether, DeFi and stablecoins have created a truly perfect storm right now. »
Bitcoin dominance decline ushers in “altseason”
The rally in ETH has also coincided with a notable drop in Bitcoin’s market dominance.
As of Wednesday, Bitcoin’s share of total cryptocurrency market capitalization dropped below 60% for the first time in four months. At its yearly high, BTC (BTC) controlled 66% of the crypto market share.
This shift signals capital rotation into altcoins, particularly large-caps like Ether, as traders and institutions seek higher returns.
Ether fund flows are also reflecting bullishness on ETH in the market.
Ethereum-focused investment products attracted $2.86 billion in the week ending Aug. 15, ahead of Bitcoin’s $552 million inflows in the same period, according to CoinShares’ weekly report.
On a month-to-date basis, ETH fund holdings have swelled by more than $2.96 billion, while BTC products recorded $21 million in outflows.
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