ETH Briefly Breaks Above $4K for the First Time Since December

Crypto markets recorded modest gains on Friday, Aug. 8, after President Donald Trump, as expected, signed an executive order allowing cryptocurrencies in 401(k) retirement plans, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dropped its appeals in the Ripple Labs case.

The standout earner among large-cap cryptocurrencies was Ethereum (ETH), which broke past $4,000 for the first time since December 2024 earlier today. Since then, it has retraced slightly to $3,966, still up over 3.5% on the day. The rally came after news broke that public ETH treasury firm Fundamental Global had filed a $5 billion shelf registration with the SEC.

“If deployed toward ETH, the full $5 billion would dwarf current publicly disclosed Ethereum treasuries, including SharpLink Gaming and Ether Machine,” The Defiant founder Camila Russo reported yesterday.

ETH’s weekly gains are at 9.5%, the highest among the top-10 crypto assets by market cap.

Bitcoin (BTC) climbed as high as $117,200 today before dropping to $116,145 – ending up flat over the past 24 hours, as well as on the week. Meanwhile, Solana (SOL) surged nearly 4% to $175.75.

XRP saw the highest 24-hour gains among the large-caps, surging 6.7% to $3.24, following news that the SEC and Ripple had jointly dropped their appeals in the Second Circuit, marking the end of a five-year long legal battle. Ripple also yesterday revealed a deal to acquire stablecoin platform Rail for $200 million.

“XRP’s trajectory is being fueled by institutional adoption, clearer regulation, and its edge in cross-border payments,” said Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget, in comments shared with The Defiant. “In the near term, regulatory tailwinds from the U.S. GENIUS and CLARITY Acts, plus the potential for an XRP ETF, could push prices toward $5.8.”

The total cryptocurrency market capitalization rose 1.2% over the past 24 hours to over $3.93 trillion, according to CoinGecko. Trading volume over the same period totaled $154 billion.

In the past 24 hours, around $300 million in crypto positions were liquidated, including $213 million in shorts and $85 million in longs, according to CoinGlass. ETH led with $114 million liquidated, followed by XRP at $34 million and BTC at about $33 million.

ETF Flows

Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded over $280 million in net inflows on Aug. 7, marking the second consecutive day of net inflows after four days of outflows. Yesterday also marked the highest daily net inflows into spot BTC ETFs since July 18.

Meanwhile, ETH ETFs kept pace with Bitcoin products, pulling in $222 million in net inflows yesterday, marking a third day of net inflows, according to SoSoValue data.

Key Development

Today’s positive market movements came after President Trump signed a new executive order on Aug. 7 expanding 401(k) plans to include cryptocurrencies, private equity, and other alternative assets. Experts view the move as a key development toward mainstream crypto adoption.

Ira Auerbach, the former head of digital assets at Nasdaq, explained in comments shared with The Defiant that allowing Americans to put even 1% of their $12 trillion in 401(k) savings into digital assets is a “watershed” moment.

“First, it gives everyday savers exposure to the fastest-growing asset class in a tax-advantaged manner,” he said. “Second, regulatory clarity pulls innovation back on-shore, inviting U.S. asset managers to build compliant crypto funds rather than having to launch them from the Cayman or Singapore.”

Auerbach, who currently leads Offchain Labs’ partner studio and venture capital arm Tandem, added that “common-sense guardrails,” such as one-for-one audited custody, could manage risk while allowing 401(k) compounding to work.

“If the agencies nail the details, this order could turn 401(k)s into the on-ramp that finally marries legacy retirement savings with on-chain technology,” Auerbach added.