Ethereum (ETH) has surged beyond the $4,200 mark for the first time since December 2024.
The latest milestone is retail optimism and bearish.
Bully hashtags dominate social media
Ether is currently trading above $4,200, and the surge has sparked optimism among traders. In fact, social media sentiment shows a strong bullish slope using hashtags such as #Buying, #Boubed, #Bullish, and #Higher trends.
Meanwhile, bearish commentaries such as #Selling, #Sold, #Bearish, and #Lower appear at about half the rate.
Santiment, a Crypto Analytics platform, highlighted the growing enthusiasm of retail-led enthusiasm, but warned that excessive FOMO could temporarily stop the rally’s momentum if sentiment went too far on one side.
Meanwhile, institutional activities also play a major role in Ethereum’s latest climbing. Since July 10th, approximately $4.17 billion worth of ETH has been accumulated by unidentified whales or agencies, Blockchain analyst Embercn has accumulated.
The purchases were made through exchange and institutional platforms, with a 45% price surge coinciding with $2,600 to $4,000. Most holdings are believed to belong to an institution with ETH reserves or listed US companies, excluding known SBET addresses. The average acquisition price for this period was around $3,546, informing us of extensive strategic positioning.
Beyond the mood and accumulation of the market, Altcoin has broken historic supply records.
Another milestone for Ethereum
As of August 9th, Ethereum’s circular supply reached a record ETH 121 million, according to network data shared by Cryptoquant. The milestone follows a slow and consistent increase almost three years after the network reached ETH of 120 million on August 22, 2022.
Ethereum currently publishes approximately 2,500 to 3,000 ETHs daily. While new ETHs are cast daily, staking continues to play a key role in shaping net supply growth.
All ETHs trapped in a staking agreement are temporarily effectively removed from the circulation, offsetting some of the new issue and act as an inflation check. In total, Ethereum has cast around 157.18 million ETH to date. This figure is achieved after combining 121 million cycles and then locked up over 3,618 million.
The dual mechanism of issuance and staking-driven absorption creates a balance on the network’s currency base. The deflationary narrative has softened for now, but the long-term price impact depends on whether network activity can justify an increase in supply.
Inflationary pressures can be valued on valuation if demand is lagging. Consistent with or exceeding supply growth, expansion may support continuous price stability or appreciation.
