Ethereum soars past $3,400 sparking altcoin season buzz as alts fly

Ethereum‘s price has reclaimed momentum, climbing above the $3,400 level for the first time since mid-January, according to CryptoSlate’s data.

The asset posted a strong 9% rally in the past 24 hours, marking a significant recovery after months of underperformance compared to Bitcoin.

ETH outperforms Bitcoin

Dean Chen, an analyst at Bitunix, noted that ETH’s recent rally follows a steep downturn in April when tariff shocks triggered widespread panic.

Since then, Ethereum has climbed more than 150%, far outpacing Bitcoin’s 65% gain over the same period. This divergence suggests a growing risk appetite among traders looking beyond BTC for more substantial returns.

As a result, altcoins across the board are benefiting from this shift. CryptoSlate’s data shows that Solana, XRP, Cardano, and Dogecoin posted gains of over 5% in the past day.

Veteran trader Peter Brandt has called this performance the official start of “altcoin season.”

That view is supported by blockchain analytics firm Coinglass, whose Altcoin Season Index hit 39 this week, its highest reading since February.

At the same time, total market capitalization for altcoins has seen a notable uptick, pointing to renewed investor interest outside Bitcoin.

What is driving Ethereum’s price rally?

Chen stated that Ethereum’s climb is tied to fundamental factors and not just market speculation.

Moreover, the shift in ETH’s market performance reflects a broader change in sentiment toward the network itself. Ethereum is increasingly seen as the foundational layer for innovations like stablecoins and asset tokenization, which has led to growing interest from institutional investors.

Ryan Adams, the co-founder of Bankless, said:

“We’re finally talking about ETH the asset and slowly starting to value it the way it should be valued. As a world reserve asset. ETH is like gold or bitcoin with yield.”

This is evidenced by the growing inflows into the US-listed spot Ethereum ETFs. On July 16, the nine funds recorded over $726 million in fresh capital, reflecting a clear sign of growing investor confidence.

At the same time, Ethereum is gaining ground as a treasury asset, with firms like Sharplink Gaming and Bitmine Immersion Technology recently adding ETH to their balance sheets. These companies have accumulated more than $1.6 billion worth of ETH in the past month.

What’s next for ETH’s price?

Thomas Lee, Chairman of Bitmine and CIO of Fundstrat, noted that Ethereum tends to follow the same trajectory as small-cap stocks. This suggests that rising risk appetite and potential Fed rate cuts later this year could further support ETH’s price.

On prediction markets like Polymarket, 70% of traders expect ETH to hit $4,000 before year’s end, and 40% believe it could go as high as $5,000. This aligns with forecasts from Consensys, which projects a year-end price of $4,900 and a long-term target of $15,800 by 2028.

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