Ethereum Surges 20% in June – Is $3K the Next Target for ETH in Q3?

Ethereum bulls are back in charge as ETH posts a 20% rebound this month – but can the rally hold?

After weathering a brutal crypto winter, Ethereum''s June comeback has traders whispering about a return to $3,000. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap is showing strength just as institutional interest starts creeping back into digital assets.

Technical indicators suggest ETH could be gearing up for a major move. Liquidity pools are building around key psychological levels, and options traders are placing bullish bets for Q3. Of course, this being crypto, the ''smart money'' could just as easily be setting up another rug pull.

The real test comes if Ethereum can sustain momentum through summer''s typically sluggish trading volumes. Break through $3K, and suddenly those ''ETH to $10K'' predictions don''t sound quite so crazy. Stumble here, and well... at least the gas fees are cheaper these days.

Spot demand steps in as derivatives cool off

Ethereum kicked off June with a solid 10.77% dip, hitting a mid-week low around $2,393, right as Bitcoin slipped 4.44% off its $105k resistance. 

What followed was a decisive recovery.

ETH rebounded 20.3% off the lows, clearly outpacing Bitcoin’s 10.03% MOVE in the same window. That kind of relative strength post-capitulation reinforced Ethereum’s structural support.

Source: TradingView (ETH/USDT)

Now, the current setup is beginning to echo that same sequence. Another round of market-wide FUD (sparked by geopolitical tensions) knocked bitcoin down to a mid-week low of $102,832, a 7% dip from its weekly high.

Ethereum followed with a sharper 14.9% pullback, dropping to $2,441. But this wasn’t just a spot-driven move. As AMBCrypto flagged, the drop was triggered by a heavy round of futures deleveraging.

Yet what’s notable is ETH’s swift recovery. At press time, it has already reclaimed over 50% of the drop, trading at $2,619.

Clearly, the leverage flush didn’t dent underlying demand. Instead, it once again reinforced ETH’s strong bid-side interest.

Setting the stage for Ethereum’s next parabolic leg

Nothing underscores ETH’s resilience quite like its futures setup. 

Despite the recent liquidation wave, Ethereum’s Open Interest has rebounded 5% to $36 billion, while funding rates remain firmly positive, signaling a strong long-side bias.

Meanwhile, the Estimated Leverage Ratio (ELR) across exchanges is ticking higher again after a sharp 9% reset to 0.78 last week. In short, leverage is rotating back in, and repositioning is rebuilding fast.

Source: Glassnode

Backed by firm spot demand, Ethereum is now outperforming Bitcoin with a 3.55% gain at press time, echoing the post-liquidation strength seen in the past two cycles.

This pattern matters. Each cycle has seen Ethereum reset higher, establish stronger structural support, and use that foundation as a launchpad for parabolic recoveries.

If it holds, the setup shifts from “high-risk” to “high-reward”, making $3k just the starting line as we move into Q3.