TLDR
- Ethereum climbed to its highest level since January, forming a golden cross on the daily chart
- US spot Ethereum ETFs pulled in $697 million last week, reversing the prior week’s outflows
- The staking ratio jumped to 35%, with 42.3 million ETH tokens now staked
- Short liquidations totaled $1.69 billion over three days, showing heavy bearish pressure
- Analysts have a near-term price target of $2,750, with $3,000 as the key psychological level
Ethereum (ETH) surged above $2,500 last week, reaching its highest price since mid-January. The rally came alongside strong institutional buying and a wave of short liquidations.
US spot Ethereum ETFs recorded $697 million in inflows last week. That reversed the previous week’s outflows of $2.2 million. ETFs have now taken in $939 million in August alone, well above July’s $365 million total.
BlackRock’s ETH fund leads all spot Ethereum ETFs with $7.8 billion in assets. Total assets across all US spot ETH funds now stand at $14.2 billion, with cumulative net inflows of $12.15 billion since launch.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs Recorded $1.918 Billion in Net Inflows Last Week
From Aug. 17 to Aug. 21 (ET), spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net inflows of $1.918 billion. Spot Ethereum ETFs saw net inflows of $697 million, while spot Solana ETFs recorded $28.34 million, spot XRP ETFs $39.78… pic.twitter.com/K9F273H8t9
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) August 24, 2026
ETH was up 8% on Friday, extending gains after a short squeeze earlier in the week. Short liquidations hit $265 million in a single 24-hour period, and $1.69 billion in short positions were liquidated over three days.
The Crypto Fear and Greed Index rose to 76, placing it in the greed zone. This reflects a broader risk-on shift among investors following Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s announcement of increased bond buyback operations.
Golden Cross and Technical Levels
On the daily chart, ETH confirmed a golden cross, with the 50-day and 200-day Weighted Moving Averages crossing. This pattern is seen as a bullish momentum signal.
ETH now trades above its 20-, 50-, 100-, and 200-day Exponential Moving Averages. However, the 14-day RSI sits near 87 and the Stochastic Oscillator is around 99, both in overbought territory.
Analyst Ted Pillows noted on X that ETH reclaiming the $2,400 level was key, writing that a weekly close above $2,450 would put $3,000 as the next target.
$ETH is back above the $2,400 level.
A weekly close above the $2,450 level means Ethereum will hit $3,000 first. pic.twitter.com/llHK8NPDy8
— Ted (@TedPillows) August 23, 2026
Staking and On-Chain Data
The ETH staking ratio rose to 35%, with 42.3 million tokens now staked. This reflects growing long-term conviction among holders.
Network Realized Profit/Loss data shows distribution from profitable coins remains low. The Age Consumed metric, which tracks movement of older coins, has stayed calm, suggesting long-term holders are not selling into the rally.
The Coinbase Premium Index, which compares ETH prices on Coinbase Pro versus Binance, has trended upward but has not yet flipped positive. A positive reading would confirm stronger US-based buying pressure.
Key resistance sits at $2,545, this week’s high. Above that, analysts point to $2,750 and $2,868 as the next targets. Support sits at $2,172, then the 200-day EMA around $2,130.
ETH last traded around $2,520, with ETFs on track for their best week of 2026.
