Author: Maham Arslan

Ethereum (ETH) surged toward the $4,500 resistance on Thursday, fueled by heightened demand from exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and corporate treasuries. A recent Sygnum Bank report highlights that accelerated accumulation is creating a potential supply squeeze.

Since the early May Pectra upgrade, Ethereum has soared 140%, vastly outperforming Bitcoin’s 15% and Solana’s 42% gains. Analysts attribute this growth to staking improvements, enhanced scalability, and regulatory clarity from the SEC, alongside supportive frameworks like the GENIUS and CLARITY Acts.

• US spot Ethereum ETFs have recorded over $10.3 billion in net inflows since May (SoSoValue).
• Corporations have acquired nearly $16 billion in ETH for treasuries (Strategic ETH Reserve).
• Whales holding 10,000–100,000 ETH accumulated 5.6 million ETH (CryptoQuant).

Sygnum Bank emphasizes that shrinking exchange reserves and increased staking—now representing roughly 30% of Ethereum’s total supply—signal intensified demand pressure.

Holdings in Ethereum investment funds have doubled since April, now totaling about 6. 5 million $ETH.#etherum #crypto

— Crypto Zabi (@zabishaikhs) September 12, 2025

Staking Boosts Institutional Interest

The bank notes that Ethereum’s yield-bearing opportunities are driving institutional flows. SEC clarifications on liquid staking as non-securities have boosted confidence in staking-based ETFs, differentiating them from Bitcoin ETFs.

Investor behavior also explains recent validator exits, which were driven more by rebalancing staked positions than profit-taking. Looped staking trades temporarily reversed due to ETH borrowing rates exceeding staking yields, but long-term demand remains intact.

• Liquid staking integration strengthens Ethereum ETFs.
• Corporate treasuries seek passive yield from staking.
• Exchange reserves continue to shrink below cycle lows.

Sygnum analysts suggest deposits will likely continue as ETF staking approvals become more probable, further supporting Ethereum’s upward momentum.

Technical Outlook: ETH Retests $4,500

ETH retested $4,500 resistance after breaking above a descending triangle pattern. Futures liquidations totaled $71.8 million in the past 24 hours, split between $38.1 million in long and $33.7 million in short positions (Coinglass).

Technical indicators signal mild bullish momentum:

• Stochastic Oscillator rose above its neutral level.
• Relative Strength Index (RSI) crossed above its moving average.

Support is near the 50-day Simple Moving Average, just above the $4,000 psychological level. A drop below could pressure ETH toward $3,500, while flipping $4,500 into support may trigger a rally toward the all-time high of $4,956.

Holešky is shutting down after almost 2 years of operation. The shutdown will happen 2 weeks after the upcoming Fusaka upgrade, later this year.

Launched in September 2023, Holešky was designed to stress test Ethereum’s proof-of-stake and give developers a large environment to test updates before mainnet deployment.

It supported Dencun and Pectra upgrades and hosted thousands of validators as the largest public testnet. This reduced transaction costs, improved efficiency and expanded validator operations.

But by early 2025, Holešky started to have issues. During the Pectra upgrade “inactivity leaks” caused many validators to go offline and long exit queues that delayed testing for months. The testnet became more of a bottleneck than a proving ground.

In March 2025, the Ethereum Foundation launched a new testnet, Hoodi, to replace Holešky. Hoodi has since become the main platform for validator and staking provider testing, supporting Fusaka and beyond.

Developers are encouraged to migrate to Hoodi, Sepolia for decentralized apps and smart contracts. Smaller scale validator testing continues on Ephemery with 28 day reset cycles.

The Fusaka hard fork, happening early November, will make rollups cheaper and faster by distributing data availability across validators more efficiently.

With 11 Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) included it will boost scalability and decentralization. Looking ahead, Ethereum has another big upgrade—Glamsterdam—planned for 2026 which will reduce block times from 12 to 6 seconds, improve zero-knowledge proofs and user experience.

The Ethereum Foundation has highlighted user experience as one of the key areas of growth for the coming year, along with decentralization and scalability.

These upgrades haven’t gone unnoticed by the markets—ETH has gone up more than 200% since April 2025, institutional treasuries are adopting. ETH is currently trading at $4,401.

Ethereum Price Prediction

Ethereum is consolidating in a large symmetrical triangle since mid August with resistance at $4,499 and support at $4,212. The 50-EMA at $4,441 is capping the upside and the 200-EMA at $4,222 is the base.

Candlestick patterns show indecision with Dojis and spinning tops indicating traders are hesitant. RSI is 48, neutral but prior bullish divergence suggests sellers are losing momentum. MACD is flat waiting for confirmation.

A breakout above $4,499 could take ETH to $4,662-$4,832 and a drop below $4,212 could be $4,067-$3,885. For traders it’s simple: buy above $4,499 with stops at $4,400 or sell below $4,212 with stops at $4,300. With volatility compressed the breakout will be sharp.

In short, Ethereum is closing the Holešky chapter and preparing for Fusaka, Hoodi and future upgrades to make the network faster, cheaper and more user friendly.

ETH is at $4,323, down 6.1% in the last 24 hours but institutional demand is still providing a floor. SoSoValue shows Ethereum ETFs have seen $4 billion in net inflows since early August, $309 million of that on Wednesday alone. That’s 5 days in a row of positive flows while Bitcoin ETFs have seen $800 million in outflows this month.

Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan calls it a “relentless bid for ETH” while major firms like Goldman Sachs, Jane Street, Millennium Management and DE Shaw are among the top institutional holders. Analysts say it’s a sign of Ethereum’s growing role as a core digital asset for Wall Street portfolios.

Whales have added 1.44 million ETH in August, addresses holding 10,000-100,000 ETH are accumulating aggressively and corporate treasuries are growing too. BitMine Immersion and SharpLink Gaming now hold 3.3 million ETH worth $15 billion.

🚨 ETHEREUM ETF MADNESS: $4B monthly inflows just shattered all records!

While Bitcoin ETFs bled -$800M, institutional money is ROTATING into $ETH at lightning speed ⚡

This week's data will blow your mind 👇#ETH #ETF #Ethereum #Crypto

— Crypto Bhrata (@Cryptobhrataa) August 29, 2025

Ethereum (ETH/USD) Faces Resistance as Momentum Fades

Despite the inflows, Ethereum’s price action is hesitant. ETH was rejected above $4,567 and slipped below the ascending trendline, a sign of bullish control weakening. Price is below the 50-EMA at $4,514 but above the 200-EMA at $4,174 which is deeper support.

Candlestick patterns show long upper wicks, profit taking. RSI is at 35, near oversold and MACD is turning negative, bearish pressure building. $88 million in liquidations in the last 24 hours, $63 million of that in longs.

Key levels to watch:

• Up: reclaim $4,401 and it could rally to $4,567 and $4,809.
• Down: fails $4,174 and it could slide to $4,007 and $3,885 if selling accelerates.

Ethereum Technical Outlook and Trade Setup

Ethereum’s break below the trendline means we’re shifting from strength to indecision. The structure still favors accumulation on dips but confirmation is needed.

• Bullish: above $4,401 with volume and it’s a path to $4,809.* Down: below $4,174 and it’s $4,007 and $3,885.

For traders, it’s simple. Longs above $4,401 with stops under $4,174, shorts below $4,174 with stops above $4,401. With the structure compressing, something will give in the next few days.