Ethereum surged over 5% on Friday to reach $2,420, its highest price in months, following a period of bearish crowd sentiment. Data from Santiment shows a three-month low in weighted sentiment on August 17, two days before the rally, which was fueled by record short liquidations and increased US Treasury bond buybacks.
Ethereum extended its rally after climbing by over 5% on Friday and touched $2,420 for the first time in months. With ETH now trading above $2,380, new data suggests that several signals aligned ahead of this sharp move.
The recovery has pushed the $4,700 resistance into focus, which could open the door for $10,000, $15,000, and $20,000 targets. According to Santiment’s latest analysis, the crowd sentiment on ETH hit a three-month low on August 17.
Its seven-day weighted sentiment average fell to its lowest reading in at least three months and turned negative. Two days later, ETH shot up. On August 18, Santiment’s eth_whale_dump anomaly fired once at roughly $7.55 million, compared with five events in each of the prior two weeks.
ETH held on exchanges also fell to about 6.54 million coins, the lowest level of the stretch. Macro factors then took over as the US Treasury expanded long-end bond buybacks, followed by a record wave of short liquidations. The analytics platform said that “the negative crowd did not cause the rally, but it did leave a record pile of shorts in its path.”
The breakout has prompted Michaël van de Poppe to expect further upside, although the MN Capital founder said that the crypto asset could see some consolidation after the recent move. He believes ETH can continue higher as long as it stays above $2,000, with short-term upside levels including $2,465 and potentially $2,900.
Crypto Patel’s analysis highlights longer-term upside, noting Ethereum has gained more than 55% from the $1,500 accumulation zone. The $4,700 has now emerged as a key resistance and breakout point, with potential targets of $10,000, $15,000, and $20,000.
Axel Bitblaze noted a familiar setup, observing that Ethereum bottomed near $1,500 in April 2025 before pushing toward $2,400. The analyst expects some sideways trading and added that the token could see one more dip before making another move higher.
On the institutional side, US spot Ethereum ETFs are drawing fresh capital. On August 20, total net inflows topped $220 million, just a day after logging $189 million.
