$ETH ‌Ethereum's recent weekly performance has been truly striking, with the price settling around the $2,450 range, showing weekly gains of between 27% and 29% according to sources, the highest level seen since mid-April.

US-based spot Ethereum ETFs recorded five consecutive days of positive inflows during the week of August 17-21, collecting a net inflow of around $693-697 million in total, making it the strongest week of 2026. BlackRock's ETHA attracted the majority of these inflows, approximately $173 million, in a single day. This shows that institutional demand remains truly alive, but there is also an interesting divergence; there isn't a one-way picture among large wallets, with some whales withdrawing ETH from exchanges while others are using this rally for profit taking.

This rally is not solely driven by spot buying, but also by a mechanical leverage effect. The amount of ETH held on exchanges decreased by approximately 15% between June and mid-August, with over 33% of the supply locked in staking, which amplifies the impact of institutional buying on the price by shrinking the tradable supply. Furthermore, short liquidations triggered by the rally provided another impetus; out of a total of $1.21 billion in crypto liquidations in a 24-hour period, $264.92 million came from ETH alone, creating self-reinforcing buying pressure.

There is also a supportive development on the regulatory side: the SEC and CFTC's inclusion of Ethereum under their "digital commodity" framework is high on the market agenda, reducing regulatory uncertainty and strengthening sentiment.

It should be noted that this rally is not without risk; warnings emerged this week about the hidden liquidation risk of leveraged positions concentrated on Aave, a point of vulnerability that could trigger a chain reaction if the price pulls back sharply.

For those tracking ETH via Gate, the key point to watch is that a sustained daily close above $2,500 is a truly critical threshold. Holding this level could bring the $2,600-$2,750 range into play, while whether ETF inflows continue remains the most important indicator determining the sustainability of this rally. Overbought signals should not be ignored, but the institutional demand picture so far is still supportive.

DYOR 🔎 NFA ✔️

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