Ethereum surged to a six-week high of $1,940 in late trading Wednesday and held above $1,900 into Thursday morning, driven by better-than-expected US inflation reports and a short squeeze on Binance. The rally pushed ETH up nearly 10% over two consecutive days, extending a recovery from a June low around $1,500 that now stands at over 25%.
Inflation data sparks the move
The catalyst was a pair of US inflation readings — CPI and PPI — that both came in well below forecasts. That gave risk assets a green light, and crypto was no exception. Ethereum had been grinding higher since mid-June, but the inflation numbers turned a slow climb into a sharp breakout. The broader crypto market cap stayed flat at $2.3 trillion, but ETH was the clear outlier, up 3.2% on the day while Bitcoin cooled above $65,000 and most altcoins barely budged.
Short squeeze adds fuel
The move accelerated after a short squeeze on Binance. Nearly $30 million in futures were liquidated in a single hour, with the largest individual order clocking in at $11.9 million for the ETH/USDT pair. That kind of forced buying can turn a rally into a rocket, and it did. The exchange saw a cascade of liquidations as bears got caught offside.
What the analysts are watching
With ETH now knocking on $2,000, the chatter is about what comes next. Analyst Alaoui Capital put it bluntly: $2,000 is the level ETH “wants to test before anything else.” Satoshi Flipper noted that Ethereum has broken out of its downtrend against Bitcoin, a move he called bullish for altcoins broadly. Former BlackRock VP John Gillen laid out a roadmap: bulls need to clear $1,950 — the 100-day exponential moving average — then $2,000, and if that gives way, $2,200 could open the door to further gains.
Ethereum leads, altcoins lag
Despite ETH’s strong showing, the rest of the market was quiet. XRP, Zcash, and Stellar posted minor gains, but none came close to Ethereum’s momentum. Bitcoin held steady above $65,000, and most altcoins were flat. The message from the price action is clear: for now, this is Ethereum’s show. Whether it can pull the rest of the market along depends on whether it can hold above $1,900 and take a run at that $2,000 level in the coming days.
