Ethereum surged past the $4,000 psychological barrier, reaching $4,169 and briefly touching $4,200 – its highest level since late 2021 – as institutional demand flooded into newly approved ETH ETFs. BlackRock's ETHA product led the charge with $88.77 million in single-day inflows, contributing to a $73.22 million weekly net inflow total and a staggering $222 million over two days. This buying pressure liquidated $105 million in short positions while trading volumes spiked to triple the daily average.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin ETFs suffered their fourth consecutive day of outflows totaling $196.18 million, with Fidelity's FBTC seeing $99.11 million exits and BlackRock's IBIT losing $77.42 million. Despite holding near $117,000, BTC's dominance slipped below 60% as capital rotated into altcoins. Ethereum's resurgence fueled rallies in Layer-2 tokens: Polygon (MATIC) held above $0.2450 with bullish targets at $0.30-$0.35, accelerated by Katana's 15% supply airdrop to POL stakers. Arbitrum (ARB) reclaimed its 200-day EMA while nearing $3 billion TVL and recording $8.29 billion in stablecoin inflows – the highest among Ethereum L2s.
Solana (SOL) joined the altcoin surge, rising 10% weekly to $180.49 amid infrastructure upgrades, with traders targeting $200. The broader shift signals strengthening altseason momentum as Ethereum closes within $900 of its all-time high.