ETH trades above $4,500 amid Ethereum treasury buying spree, record ETF inflows

The price of ETH, the native token of the Ethereum blockchain, is trading at its highest level all year, according to The Block’s price page . The second-largest cryptocurrency is up approximately 4.85% on the day and about 40% since the start of the year, trading hands above $4,500 at one point on Tuesday.

ETH hit an all-time high price of $4,878.26 in November 2021 during the pandemic-era bull market, due in part to the rising popularity of DeFi applications, NFTs, and organizations built on the chain. Before this week, the token last traded above $4,000 on Dec. 16, 2024, reaching a peak of $4,107.

With the move, ETH is now outperforming bitcoin in terms of price on a year-to-date timeline. That said, bitcoin's price performance is still stronger than ETH on a full 12-month timeline , according to The Block's data.

The price rise comes amid the recent wave of so-called Ethereum treasury companies, which have accumulated upwards of $9 billion worth of ETH in recent months, according to The Block's data . A recent report from Standard Chartered’s Geoffrey Kendrick said Ethereum treasury firms are "just getting started" — and could 10x their holdings to 10% of all ETH over time.

Earlier Tuesday, BitMine filed to expand its at-the-market equity program to $24.5 billion to help fund more ETH purchases. The firm is the largest Ethereum treasury holder with 1.15 million ETH, worth approximately $5 billion at current prices.

The rally also comes amid rising interest in spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds, which have added around $5 billion to their cumulative market cap in the last month alone, compared to a total net inflow of $9.4 billion since the products began trading in July 2024. Those funds topped $1 billion in daily net inflows for the first time ever on Monday.

In a recent report, Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan said the treasury companies and ETFs have created a “demand shock” for the proof-of-stake token, and predicts that the token could rise higher. The funds and corporate treasuries bought are estimated to have acquired 32 times more ETH than the network had minted since May.