After 1,384 days, Ethereum finally hits a new all-time high — where is the next milestone?

After 1,384 days, Ethereum finally reached its highest price in this cycle. On August 23rd, following Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's dovish speech the previous night, expectations for a September rate cut surged, sending dollar assets surging across the board. A few hours later, Ethereum surged 14% to $4,887, reaching a new all-time high in its 11-year history. Its market capitalization exceeded $586 billion, ranking 25th among global tech companies by market capitalization, surpassing global giants like Mastercard and Netflix.

ETH historical price trend chart; Source: TradingView

If Bitcoin completed the leap from retail assets to institutional assets in the last cycle, then Ethereum's breakthrough to a new high at this time may mark the beginning of its own "sovereignty narrative moment." Tom Lee, Wall Street's "Master of Calls" for Ethereum, likens this strategic positioning to a "sovereign call option"—companies holding significant stakes will be uniquely positioned when Ethereum is widely adopted for global financial and AI infrastructure. Sean McNulty, Head of Derivatives Trading for Asia Pacific at FalconX Ltd, a leading digital asset prime brokerage, stated that the flow of funds from Bitcoin to Ethereum represents a "significant positive sentiment shift driven by strong spot ETF inflows, growing corporate treasury adoption, and the broader stablecoin tailwind." This statement perfectly captures why Ethereum is reaching new highs at this time. Its late arrival wasn't an absence, but rather a process of waiting—waiting for sentiment and funding, policy and technology, to converge at the same juncture. Now, that moment has finally arrived. For Ethereum, this is not just a price leap, but a shift in narrative.

Increasing Expectations of Rate Cuts

The shifting macroeconomic environment has been a key driver of Ethereum's recent record high. With the US job market continuing to weaken and core inflation gradually declining, market bets on a Fed rate cut this year have significantly increased.

This trend stems from the signals released by Fed officials in their recent intensive statements. At the Jackson Hole symposium, Powell made a rare admission that "the balance of risks is shifting"—inflation risks remain, but pressure from deteriorating employment is rapidly increasing. Under these dual pressures, the focus of monetary policy has begun to shift from "maintaining high interest rates" to "moderate easing."

The market has reacted swiftly. The CME's "FedWatch" tool shows that the probability of a 25 basis point rate cut in September is nearly 90%. For risky assets, this not only means lower funding costs and improved liquidity, but also signals a policy turning point. Combined with institutional buying and Ethereum's own narrative shift, many traders view ETH's new highs as a cyclical turning point, rather than simply a technical breakthrough. Publicly listed companies are buying! If there's any fundamental change in Ethereum this time around, the biggest difference is the entry of US-listed companies, similar to Bitcoin's micro-strategy. On May 27, 2025, Nasdaq-listed SharpLink Gaming announced a major strategic move, securing $425 million in financing through a private equity investment (PIPE). The company plans to use the net proceeds to purchase Ethereum, making ETH its primary reserve asset. Notably, the lead investor in this transaction is Consensys Software Inc., the Ethereum infrastructure development company. Related reading: "Ethereum's 'Strategy Moment'?" SharpLink Gaming's $425 Million Bet on ETH Reserves

Since then, enterprises and small public companies have increased their Ethereum allocations, and a growing number of Ethereum treasury companies have become the leaders of this upward trend. As of August 2025, according to CoinGecko data, 17 companies/institutions currently hold 1,749,490 ETH, valued at approximately $7.5 billion. Bitmine acquired 833,000 ETH in just one month, representing nearly 1% of the global supply, solidifying its position as the "world's largest publicly listed ETH treasury company."

The underlying logic is that holding ETH not only offers potential appreciation but also offers the potential to earn over 3% in native yield through PoS staking, generating long-term, sustainable financial returns. This differs from the simple price bet of Bitcoin treasury strategies and is more akin to infrastructure asset operations, offering both capital appreciation and cash flow. On August 10, Ethereum co-founder and Consensys CEO Joe Lubin said, "Treasury companies may push ETH's market value to surpass BTC within a year." Geoffrey Kendrick, head of global digital asset research at Standard Chartered Bank, said that Ethereum Treasury companies are now "very worth investing in" and are more attractive to investors than US spot Ethereum ETFs. Ethereum treasury companies' net asset value (NAV) multiples—market capitalization divided by the value of their ETH holdings—have "begun to normalize" and are expected to remain above 1, making them a better investment than US spot ETH ETFs. Kendrick noted that since June, Ethereum fund managers have purchased 1.6% of all circulating ETH, a pace comparable to that of ETH ETFs over the same period. By August 15th, according to data from StrategicEthReserve, the combined holdings of Ethereum treasuries and ETFs exceeded 10 million ETH, representing approximately 8.3% of the current total supply. Ethereum ETF inflows surpass Bitcoin, and spot Ethereum ETFs have finally seen their peak in net inflows after a year. According to Farside data, it has accumulated more than $2 billion since July 4th, and quietly attracted $8.7 billion in inflows in its first full year of operation, with AUM reaching $15.6 billion. This sustained institutional buying has built a stable buying wall for the market.

A more important signal recently is that ETFs have bought more ETH than Bitcoin. On August 8th, total inflows into ETH ETFs reached $461 million, while BTC saw only $404 million. BlackRock bought $250 million in ETH, Fidelity bought $130 million, and Grayscale bought $60 million. Unprecedented Policy Favorability: At a narrative level, Ethereum's policy tailwinds are not just lip service, but are gradually transforming into institutional support. The most immediate change comes from the increasingly clear path to legal compliance for ETH staking. Some US state regulators have begun recognizing the accounting treatment of staking income under a permission-based framework, allowing institutions to more transparently disclose staking-related income in their financial reports. Meanwhile, the successful advancement of a series of stablecoin bills has also provided growth prospects for large ETH-based stablecoins (such as USDC and USDT). These core provisions require reserve transparency, on-chain verifiability, and interstate payment interoperability, which will directly strengthen Ethereum's central position in the stablecoin issuance and settlement network. More strategically significant, the "Project Crypto" initiative, jointly led by the SEC and the Treasury Department, is shifting its regulatory framework from a previously defensive stance to one that encourages innovation in DeFi and blockchain-based financial products. Under this policy shift, Ethereum, with its overwhelming dominance in DeFi TVL (approximately 59.5% of the total network value) and stablecoin trading volume (approximately 50%), is naturally poised to benefit. This moderate policy shift has not only alleviated concerns among institutional investors but also opened the door for long-term capital such as pension funds and insurance funds to enter the market. On August 7, 2025, a moment destined to mark a significant milestone in American financial history was quietly passed. Trump signed an executive order allowing 401(k) retirement savings accounts (401k) to officially invest in "alternative assets" including cryptocurrencies, private equity, and real estate. Thus, a fringe asset class once excluded from the mainstream financial system was officially included in the nation's nearly $9 trillion retirement plan.