Ethereum experienced a remarkable 56% increase in July, marking its most significant monthly rally since July 2022. The surge pushed ETH’s price from $2,468 at the start of the month to $3,862, reflecting renewed investor confidence in the asset's growth potential.
This impressive rally is largely attributed to strong ETF inflows, which have played a pivotal role in fueling ETH’s price appreciation. Spot Ether ETFs have seen a 19-day net inflow streak, with over $5.37 billion accumulated since early July, underscoring institutional interest.
BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum ETF achieved a milestone, becoming the third-fastest ETF to reach $10 billion in assets under management, taking just 251 days. Meanwhile, net inflows into Ether ETFs outpaced Bitcoin ETFs for six consecutive days this month, indicating a growing preference among investors for Ethereum exposure.
Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst, compared Ethereum to
’90s tech stocks,
citing rapid adoption and network growth as key drivers behind its recent performance. He tweeted:
Despite the bullish price action, some analysts express concern about underlying network activity. Markus Thielen of 10x Research highlighted that Ethereum’s actual revenue remains low, with only modest increases in network activity—up just 5% last month—and revenues rising by only 3%.
He pointed out that much of ETH’s recent price movement is concentrated in Asian markets and recalled November 2021 when Ethereum generated $1.5 billion monthly revenue on a $300 billion market cap. Currently, with a $466 billion market cap and only $764 million annual revenue, the valuation appears disconnected from actual on-chain activity.
The narrative surrounding Ethereum’s future remains complex. While ETF inflows and institutional interest signal bullish sentiment, concerns about real network utility and activity levels persist among industry analysts.
As Ethereum continues to attract record ETF investments and investor attention shifts towards decentralized finance (DeFi) and broader blockchain adoption, understanding these dynamics becomes essential for traders and institutional players alike. The crypto market's evolving landscape suggests that ETH’s recent gains could mark a new phase of growth—if network fundamentals strengthen accordingly.
