Ethereum’s $4.1K Breakout Hinges on This One Critical Factor

Ethereum bulls are eyeing the elusive $4,100 mark—but the rally hinges on a make-or-break catalyst.

Here’s what needs to happen.

The Liquidity Liftoff

Spot ETF inflows must defy Wall Street’s allergy to crypto innovation. Institutional adoption isn’t a luxury—it’s jet fuel for the next leg up.

Network Stress Test

Gas fees can’t spike like a hedge fund’s blood pressure during a margin call. Layer 2 scaling must keep pace with demand, or traders will flee faster than a VC dumping pre-IPO shares.

The Macro Wildcard

Fed rate cuts? A soft landing? ETH doesn’t care about fairy tales. It needs Bitcoin to hold $60K as a baseline—because even ‘ultrasound money’ trembles when BTC sneezes.

One hedge fund manager yawns: 'We’ll believe it when we see it—right after our third yacht purchase.'

Ethereum hovered near the $4,100 resistance level on July 29, 2025, as large holders kept buying and market attention moved from Bitcoin to ETH.

Analysts said a breakout may only happen if price holds above this key level, supported by rising open interest and ETF inflows.

Whales Keep Buying as Ethereum Stays Close to Key Level

Market data shows that Ethereum’s price was steady just below $3,800 on July 29, 2025, a level traders marked as the breakout zone.

According to crypto analyst Ali Martinez, there was still excitement in the market, however, a real move would likely begin once ETH moved above the $4,100 price mark.

At the time of filing this report, ETH price was trading at $3,765.50, down by 0.14% in 24 hours.

It is worth noting that one of the biggest recent buyers was World Liberty Financial. The group bought 256.75 ETH for $1 Million in USDC just 23 hours earlier.

The President Donald Trump-linked firm paid an average of $3,895 per coin with the purchase.

In total, World Liberty Financial had collected 77,226 ETH worth $296 million, with an average cost of $3,294. That gave them an unrealized profit of about $41.7 million.

Another major player, Sharplink Gaming, added 77,210 ETH to its balance sheet, spending around $295 million.

According to the update, this came weeks after its earlier buy of nearly 80,000 ETH for $258 million.

If anything, these big purchases showed how large holders had been buying consistently. It helps to support price resilience NEAR current levels.

Open Interest Points to Rising Interest in Ethereum

In separate news, data from Glassnode showed a big rise in Ethereum’s open interest dominance.

According to the update, it had climbed to almost 40%, the highest since April 2023.

Only 5% of days in history have seen a higher number. This data suggested more traders were focusing on ethereum rather than BTC.

Similarly, the chart shared by Glassnode showed how ETH open interest had grown while Bitcoin’s had dropped.

Analysts said this could mean traders were shifting their attention toward Ethereum as a possible leader in the market for now.

Momentum Builds Ahead of Possible Breakout

It is worth noting that some traders had anticipated a deeper drop before the ethereum price will push higher, but this did not occur.

For example, Michaël van de Poppe said the price stayed strong and was now likely to reach $4,100.

After touching that point, he said it may pull back briefly before trying to MOVE higher.

Still, technical signals also suggested more upward momentum. The MACD histogram was at +21.93, and the RSI-14 stood at 81.75.

These numbers showed strong demand but also hinted that price might be overbought, meaning a short pause could follow.

ETF inflows added more fuel. As reported by Scott Melker, ETH spot ETFs had seen 17 straight days of inflows.

Ethereum was trading above $3,700, while bitcoin dominance dropped to 61%, even with BTC near $118,000.

Melker also noted that institutions were buying, despite ongoing regulatory debates.

Additionally, upcoming events could also affect the market. The U.S. Federal Reserve was expected to make an interest rate policy announcement soon.

In addition to these bullish sentiments, the WHITE House was preparing a crypto report, and traders are watching all events closely.

Despite the growing interest, analysts like Ali reminded followers that the Ethereum price must break above $4,100 for a true shift to happen. Until then, the market remained cautious.