Ethereum Smashes $4K Barrier — Wall Street Whispers ’Buy’ as $10K Target Looms

Ethereum isn't just breaking records—it's bulldozing them. The crypto giant surged past $4,000 today, leaving analysts scrambling to revise their price targets upward. Institutional money floods in like clockwork—just in time for the usual cycle of retail FOMO.

Why $10K Could Be Inevitable

Three reasons: ETF inflows hitting critical mass, staking yields outpacing Treasury bonds (for now), and that classic crypto market logic where 'up only' becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Never mind that 90% of these institutions couldn't explain smart contracts if their bonuses depended on it.

The Cynical Take

Watch the suits pile in now that the hard work's been done—decentralization was cute until they realized they could slap 'blockchain' on a prospectus and charge 2% management fees.

Ethereum (ETH) has surged past the $4,000 mark for the first time since December last year. This time, the push is being fueled not just by retail traders, but also by large institutional investors shifting their treasuries toward Ethereum.

Well-known crypto trader Aaron Bennett believe ETH’s breakout has stronger foundations than in past cycles as he predict ETH to hit $10,000 soon. 

Ethereum Price To Explode Soon

According to crypto trader Aaron Bennett, Ethereum’s current market “risk level” is around 0.689 on historical charts, well below the 1.0 level that usually signals a market top.

The last time ETH crossed $4,000 in late 2024, the risk level was much higher, and the price quickly dropped. This time, Bennett believes the market is much healthier, giving ethereum more room to grow.

Meanwhile, on-chain data also shows Ethereum starting to outperform Bitcoin, a trend that has often come before strong ETH rallies in the past. 

Bennett adds that while Bitcoin could still aim for $250,000, Ethereum might climb to $10,000 or more, and it could do so alongside Bitcoin’s rise, rather than at its expense.

Big Institutions Are Buying Huge

A key driver this time is the arrival of corporate treasury buyers competing to acquire 5–10% of Ethereum’s total supply. For example:

• BitMine recently expanded its treasury to 833,000 ETH, becoming the largest public ETH holder.
• SharpLink now holds 498,884 ETH, making it the second-largest.

Institutional adoption is also accelerating. With 13 of the top 25 U.S. banks already working on bitcoin products, many are expected to build Ethereum-based services, boosting ETH’s role in both DeFi and traditional finance.

Ethereum ETFs are seeing heavy inflows too, on August 8, ETH ETFs recorded $461 million in inflows, while Bitcoin struggled to match the momentum.

Ethereum Price Prediction for 2026

Crypto trader EllioTrades believes Ethereum could see massive gains by 2026 if demand keeps rising. Speaking on Altcoin Daily’s YouTube channel, he said a “fair value” could be over $50,000 per coin given Ethereum’s growing importance.

But he expects ETH could realistically trade above $15,000 by the end of the year. If big institutions build financial systems on Ethereum and its LAYER 2 networks, he sees ETH following Bitcoin’s growth path.

Currently, ETH trades around $4,175, up 2% in the past week, with a market cap of $503.5 billion.