Ethereum is finally making noise again. After months of sluggish price action, ETH has flipped the narrative in a big way, rallying over 50% in just the past month. Now, the conversation has shifted from “Will ETH ever bounce back?” to “How high can this go?”
One of the most optimistic voices in the room? Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan, who recently took to X (formerly Twitter) to break down what’s really driving this surge and why it might just be getting started.
From Meh to Momentum: The Demand Shock That Changed Everything
Earlier this year, ETH’s price was stuck in neutral. Institutional interest was lukewarm at best, and Ethereum-based exchange-traded products (ETPs) were barely drawing any serious capital pulling in just a few billion dollars total and accumulating around 660,000 ETH.
Meanwhile, the Ethereum network issued 543,000 ETH, nearly matching the demand. In short: supply and demand were balanced, so the price didn’t have much reason to move.
But that all changed in mid-May.
Suddenly, spot ETH ETPs exploded, sucking in over $5 billion in a matter of weeks. That demand shock alone started to move the needle but it wasn’t just institutions.
Corporate Giants Join the Accumulation Game
Enter the new players: corporate treasuries.
Big names like SharpLink, a major player in iGaming, and mining firm Bitmine, have jumped headfirst into ETH accumulation. In fact, their treasuries are now larger than the Ethereum Foundation’s holdings.
- SharpLink reportedly holds 360,807 ETH
- Bitmine is close behind with ~300,000 ETH
Combined, these corporate buyers along with ETPs have absorbed an estimated 2.83 million ETH since May. That’s more than $10 billion worth, and it’s 32x the amount of new ETH issued by the network in the same period.
Hougan believes this massive demand imbalance is the core reason behind Ethereum’s recent rally.
Institutions Still Have Room to Run
The bullish case doesn’t stop here. Hougan points out that ETH still has a long runway especially when compared to Bitcoin:
- Ethereum’s market cap is now about 19% of Bitcoin’s
- But ETH-based ETPs only hold 12% as much as their Bitcoin counterparts
This means institutions are still underweight Ethereum, and there’s likely room for billions more to flow in as they seek to “catch up.”
And as ETH-focused treasuries like SharpLink and Bitmine see stock market gains from their ETH bets, others may follow their lead further driving demand.
What’s Next? Supply Can’t Keep Up
According to Bitwise estimates, ETPs and corporate treasuries are expected to buy another 5.3 million ETH over the next year that’s roughly $20 billion at current prices.
And here’s the kicker: the Ethereum network is only projected to issue around 800,000 ETH in that time.
That means demand could outweigh new supply by nearly 7x. Even though Ethereum doesn’t have a fixed supply like Bitcoin, Hougan notes that short-term prices are still driven by basic supply-and-demand dynamics.
And right now? Demand is dominating.
Final Thoughts
Ethereum’s recent price rally isn’t just hype. It’s being driven by real demand from institutional products and increasingly aggressive corporate buyers. If these trends continue, Ethereum could be primed for even more upside in the months ahead.
So, the question might not be “How long can the rally last?” but “Are we just getting started?”
