Ethereum’s Next Bull Run Inevitable? Analysts Weigh In on Explosive Potential

Ethereum isn't just surviving—it's priming for a breakout. While traditional markets wobble under rate hikes and recession fears, ETH's tech stack keeps evolving. Layer-2 adoption is exploding, DeFi TVL is creeping back toward 2021 highs, and the Merge's energy efficiency play finally shut up the 'but Bitcoin is greener' crowd.

Key drivers? Institutional demand for staking yields (Wall Street loves a coupon), and the fact most 'ETH killers' still can't dethrone the king. Even the SEC's waffling on ETF approvals can't kill the momentum—just ask the degens front-running the inevitable greenlight.

Bear case? Macro could drag everything down. But let's be real—since when do crypto traders care about 'sound fundamentals'? The charts say buy. The builders say buy. And if you're waiting for CNBC to tell you it's safe, you've already missed the bottom.

From sluggish inflows to a ‘demand shock’

Hougan traced Ethereum’s weak performance earlier in the year to muted institutional interest. For a long period, ethereum exchange-traded products struggled to gain any real momentum, drawing only a few billion dollars and acquiring just 660,000 ETH.

Over that same period, the network issued about 543,000 ETH. With supply and demand nearly balanced, the asset’s price had little to no reason to climb.

But this trend has since changed. Spot Ethereum ETPs saw a surge in buying activity around mid-May, pulling in over $5 billion within weeks. Around the same time, a new class of buyers entered the picture.

A wave of corporate ETH buyers has been shaking up the scene in recent months. Among them, iGaming giant SharpLink and mining firm Bitmine have stood out, locked in a race to build the biggest ETH-focused treasury.

Their aggressive buying sprees have already pushed both firms beyond even the Ethereum Foundation’s holdings, with SharpLink sitting on 360,807 ETH and Bitmine close behind with roughly 300,000 ETH, as previously reported by crypto.news.

Bitwise estimates that ETPs and corporate treasuries have absorbed 2.83 million ETH since May, worth more than $10 billion. This is around 32 times more than the net new supply issued by the network during that period, and according to the CIO, this demand-to-supply imbalance is the major force behind ETH’s 50% rally over the past month. But this isn’t even the peak. 

ETH to the Moon? Institutions aren’t done yet

Ethereum’s market cap is nearly 19% of Bitcoin’s, yet ETH ETPs hold less than 12% of the assets under management compared to Bitcoin products. This underweight position leaves room for significant inflows if investors seek parity.

Hougan added that Ethereum-focused treasury companies are likely to double down on accumulation, as their strategy is paying off with stock market gains that signal strong investor approval and could drive more buying.

ETPs and corporate treasuries together are expected to purchase around 5.3 million ETH, roughly $20 billion, over the next year. With the network expected to produce only about 0.8 million ETH in that time, this demand could outweigh new supply by almost seven times.

While Ethereum’s issuance model is different from Bitcoin’s capped supply, Hougan emphasized that short-term prices are dictated by simple supply-and-demand dynamics. Right now, demand is far outpacing new issuance, and should the trend persist, ETH is positioned for more gains.