Crypto Markets Rally as Ethereum Nears All-Time High

Crypto markets are rallying today, Aug. 13, with Ethereum (ETH) extending its very strong week, surging toward record levels last seen four years ago. The total crypto market capitalization stands at $4.2 trillion, up 2.5% on the day, setting a new all-time high, according to CoinGecko data.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at about $121,470 as of press time, up 1.4% in the last 24 hours, extending its weekly gains to 5.7%. BTC briefly topped $122,000 earlier in the week but has largely stayed range-bound.

ETH continues to outperform BTC in daily gains, rising 5.5% on the day and reaching above $4,700, a level last seen in 2021, and now only about 3.8% below its November 2021 all-time high. ETH has grown 24% in the past seven days, and is up over 55% in the last month.

In under two weeks, ETH’s market capitalization has grown from around $407 billion to $567 billion, adding $160 billion, which is more than Solana’s entire market capitalization of $107 billion.

New ETH Price Targets

Amid that dynamic, global banking giant Standard Chartered updated its price target for ETH, raising it from $4,000 to $7,500 by the end of this year and to $25,000 by 2028, citing stronger industry participation and increased holdings of the token in recent months.

Adding to the momentum, Tom Lee’s BitMine — the largest publicly traded ETH treasury with more than 1.2 million ETH on its balance sheet — plans to raise as much as $24.5 billion through common stock sales to expand its Ethereum holdings, a regulatory filing shows.

Paul Howard, senior director at crypto market maker Wincent, told The Defiant that the recent rally in ETH represents “more of an overdue directional move as the institutional market looks for alpha opportunities.” He noted that treasury vehicles and large holders have been accumulating ETH as an investable asset following U.S. regulatory shifts earlier this year.

“The structural changes over the past few years including ETHs migration to a POS mechanism, integration with DeFi and staking rewards are finally delivering value after being ignored for so long time,” he said, adding that a peak near $5,000 this year seems reasonable.

Among other large-caps, XRP is up 1.6% at $3.27, while Solana (SOL) is leading daily gains among the top-ten crypto assets, up 10% over the past 24 hours to trade just under $200. SOL’s weekly gains now stand at 19%.

The Solana rally is likely boosted by news of Hong Kong’s CMB International, a big Chinese bank-owned investment firm, tokenizing its HK-Singapore Mutual Recognition Fund on Solana.

ETF and Liquidations

Spot Ethereum ETFs saw another strong day yesterday, Aug. 12, attracting $523.9 million in net inflows, according to SoSoValue, just a day after the products pulled in a record $1.02 billion. Meanwhile, Bitcoin ETFs drew in a more modest $65.9 million on Tuesday.

That concentrated buying helped exacerbate forced selling. CoinGlass data show more than $560 million in total liquidations over the prior 24 hours, with short positions accounting for more than $410 million. In the past day, Ethereum saw the largest liquidations at over $270 million, followed by Bitcoin with more than $88 million.

The ETF-driven demand unfolded against a broader macro backdrop supporting risk-on sentiment. On Tuesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent publicly called for a 50-basis-point Federal Reserve cut in September, suggesting the possibility of further easing. His comments came after data showed inflation held steady at 2.7% in July.

Major U.S. equity indexes, including the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, moved to fresh highs on Tuesday, as yields and the dollar eased, which tightened the correlation between traditional risk assets and recent crypto gains.