ETH Breaks $4,000

It’s currently hovering around $4,033, which puts it a mere 2% shy of carving out a new high for 2024. More intriguingly, it’s also just 20% away from that legendary all-time apex of $4,868. 

This recent uptick hasn’t just beaten out broader crypto benchmarks; it’s also outpaced its longtime rival, bitcoin (BTC), handily in multiple timeframes. ETH is up 2.4% in the past 24 hours and 8.4% over the last seven days. Meanwhile, the ETH/BTC ratio has managed to claw back to the 0.04 mark — a ratio that previously represented a brief relative peak for ether back on Nov. 10. If you’re on team ether, this ratio bounce is a welcome change after the ETH/BTC pair endured a steady beating since late 2022.

Source: BNC Ethereum Liquid Index

Over on Coinbase, ETH is selling at a higher price than on Binance. This so-called “Coinbase premium” often signals that the buying frenzy is being driven by the U.S. market — think institutional desks sniffing around, along with retail investors who have historically felt more comfortable trading on a U.S.-regulated platform. After all, when U.S. trading hours kick off and we see even a slight price gap favoring Coinbase, that’s often the canary in the coal mine for American institutional involvement.

Moreover, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tied to spot ether have just seen record inflows, a development that many interpret as another vote of confidence from more traditional financial corners. If you’ve been wondering whether the “institutions are coming” narrative still holds water, these premium indicators might just be giving you the answer. Sure, we’ve heard this story before, but it’s no less intriguing now.

Last few days of $ETH ETF Flows have looked very strong.

Dec 5th: 429m 

Dec 4th: 167.7m

Dec 3rd: 132.6m 

Dec 2nd: 24.2m 

Nov 29th: 332.9m

This amounts to more than all the months before, combined net. There was essentially nothing until post-election. Now the trend continues to grow at fraction of the $BTC marketcap. More room to run.

ETH ETFs on the up, Source: X

ETH ETFs catch a bid, finally, Source: X

On top of the price and market structure dynamics, Ethereum’s on-chain activity is painting a similarly bullish picture. According to Glassnode data, active addresses on the Ethereum network have surged from roughly 368,000 to a whopping 523,000 (7-day moving average) between Sept. 24 and Dec. 5. More activity means more transactions, potentially more gas fees, and ultimately more ETH burned due to Ethereum’s fee-burning mechanism introduced with EIP-1559. This supply-side squeeze can’t be underestimated. It’s a self-reinforcing loop: more usage, more burn, tighter supply, potentially higher prices.