Ethereum Ether (ETH) is stealing the show in Monday’s crypto rally, hitting a six-week high as investor demand shows signs of returning to the second-largest digital asset after months of steep decline.
Ethereum’s native token, ETH, has surpassed $2,300, gaining more than 10% in the last 24 hours. That easily outpaced Bitcoin’s 3% advance and the CoinDesk 20 Index’s roughly 5% gain, signaling a shift in momentum toward assets beyond Bitcoin.
The move comes after a torrid time for the broader crypto market, including ether. With the rebound, ETH is still down more than 50% from its August high, and at one point it was down about 65% from its peak during the market’s winter crash.
Prices stabilized in February and March and institutional flows are starting to become favorable.
U.S. ether spot ETFs collected more than $160 million in new funds last week, marking their strongest weekly inflows since mid-January, according to SoSoValue data. Global asset manager BlackRock has also rolled out an Ethereum (ETHB) yield staking ETF, which has already attracted more than $45 million in inflows in its first two trading days, in addition to a $104 million seed investment, according to data from Farside Investors.
Meanwhile, BitMine (BMNR), the largest holding company focused on Ethereum treasury strategies, purchased nearly 122,000 ETH – worth approximately over $280 million at current prices – over the past two weeks, adding another source of demand.
BMNR shares are up 13.6% on Monday. Sharplink Gaming (SBET), another major ETH treasury company, is up 9.1%.
Rotation from Bitcoin
Analysts say the price action could reflect investors’ rotation into ether after bitcoin dominated inflows earlier this year.
“ETH’s relative strength suggests potential rotation dynamics, possibly related to network development and valuation appeal beyond bitcoin,” said Joel Kruger, market strategist at LMAX Group.
He added that ether has broken out of an important range against bitcoin where it has been trading since late January. “potentially marking a significant bottom for ETHBTC.”
Adam Saville Brown, head of commercial at Tesseract Group, sees the move as a sign that the appetite for risk is widening in the crypto market.
“Ethereum’s outperformance is worth watching,” said Adam Saville Brown, head of trading at Tesseract Group. “ETH has moved back above $2,200 after weeks of underperformance. This type of rotation into the second-largest asset suggests that risk appetite is widening, which tends to be a healthy sign.”
He nevertheless warned that the recovery could remain sensitive to macroeconomic signals.
“If Powell takes a cautious tone on inflation, altcoin gains will pay off faster than bitcoin,” Saville Brown said. “The honest assessment is that the floor appears solid. The ceiling requires more than just holding rates to get past it.”
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