Ethereum Surges to $2,546 on ETF Inflows, Short Squeezes and Tight Supply

Ethereum (ETH) rallied 29.8% over the past seven days, outpacing Bitcoin’s 22.9% gain and hitting a weekly high of $2,546 on Saturday afternoon.

ETF Inflows Drive Buying Pressure

Spot Ethereum ETFs recorded net inflows of about $697 million for the week, with the largest daily inflows occurring on August 19 ($189 million), August 20 ($221 million) and August 21 ($185 million). BlackRock’s ETHA, Grayscale Mini ETH and Fidelity’s FETH accounted for most of the demand. Total assets under management in spot ether ETFs approached $14.3 billion, roughly 4.85% of Ethereum’s market cap.

Tightening On‑Chain Supply

Ethereum held on exchanges fell roughly 15% from early June to mid‑August, dropping from about 7.7 million ETH to 6.54 million ETH. Approximately 33.7% of the total supply (about 42 million ETH) remains locked in staking, reducing the amount immediately available for trade.

Futures and Options Activity

Open interest in Ethereum futures stood at $31.81 billion (13.06 million ETH), with Binance holding the largest share at $8.77 billion. Over the past 24 hours, ETH accounted for $264.92 million of the $1.21 billion total crypto liquidations, the biggest share among derivatives.

Options data showed calls representing 58.41% of open interest (1.60 million ETH) versus puts at 41.59% (1.14 million ETH). However, 24‑hour options volume was weighted toward puts (56.09%). The most active contracts were near‑term puts around $2,100 and calls at $2,200‑$3,500.

Technical Outlook

The relative strength index (RSI) ranged between 78 and 88, indicating an overbought condition. Key support levels are $2,400‑$2,450 and $2,300, while a break above $2,546‑$2,550 could open a path to $2,600‑$2,800. A drop below $2,300 may expose the price to $2,150‑$2,200.

Broader Market Context

U.S. Treasury bond buybacks doubled to $4 billion per operation, helping lower yields and support risk‑on assets. Legislative discussion of the proposed Clarity Act aimed to reduce regulatory uncertainty for digital assets.