Token Approaches $5,000 Mark Before Retreating to $4,460

Ethereum reached a new record high for 2025 over the weekend, nearly touching the $5,000 mark before retreating. The second-largest cryptocurrency hit $4,953 during weekend trading, spurred by comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell suggesting interest rates could be reduced in coming months.

The price has since pulled back to $4,460 at press time, representing a 1.4% decrease over the last 24 hours. Despite this correction, ETH remains up 7.35% compared to last week and has gained an impressive 26.94% over the past month.

Powell’s remarks at the annual Jackson Hole meeting triggered optimism across risk assets, including cryptocurrencies. Market expectations for a September rate cut increased from 75% to 87%, according to CME FedWatch data.

The shift came after months of pressure from President Donald Trump, who publicly called for lower rates earlier in the year. Traders viewed Powell’s comments as the clearest signal yet that the policy tightening cycle was ending.

Lower interest rates typically increase liquidity in risk markets, which explains why both cryptocurrencies and equities responded positively to the news.

Institutional Interest Grows

Ethereum’s price movement isn’t solely driven by macroeconomic factors. Large entities and funds have steadily increased their ETH holdings throughout 2025.

Data from the Strategic ETH Reserve showed more than 10.6 million ETH, valued at over $50 billion, locked across corporate treasuries and institutional vehicles.

Bitmine Immersion Tech has emerged as the leading corporate holder of Ethereum. The company, led by Wall Street veteran Tom Lee, added $45 million in ETH last week, bringing its total holdings to approximately 1.7 million tokens valued above $8.8 billion.

$ETH looks ready to hit $5K really soon.

After that, Ethereum will take a break before the next leg up.

$10,000+ ETH is coming this cycle and there’s nothing stopping that. pic.twitter.com/DIuCjqCtm7

— Ted (@TedPillows) August 24, 2025

SharpLink Gaming reported holdings of around 740,000 ETH, while Coinbase holds approximately 137,000 ETH.

Spot Ethereum ETFs have also seen strong demand. On Friday, all nine US-listed products posted a combined $341 million in net additions, with no outflows reported.

Analysts note this marks a structural shift from previous years when Ethereum often faced persistent selling pressure above $4,000. The sustained demand has allowed the token to hold above that level for the first time since 2021.

Market Outlook and Price Predictions

Despite the recent pullback, analysts maintain a positive outlook for Ethereum. The combination of monetary easing expectations, expanding institutional treasuries, and structural adoption suggests Ethereum has established itself as a leading driver of cryptocurrency momentum in 2025.

CoinCodex predicts that ETH may increase to $5,817 in September. Their anticipated trading range for ETH in September is between $4,825 and $6,978, suggesting a potential gain of 59.38%.

Changelly offers a more conservative forecast, estimating a mean prediction of $5,097 for September 2025. Their analysis suggests ETH could range between $4,767 and $5,428.

The recent price action shows Ethereum’s performance increasingly mirrors traditional financial markets. Charley Cooper, chief operating officer at Ava Labs, noted that lower interest rates typically benefit digital assets.

Cooper argued that Powell’s position carries weight not only for monetary policy but also because of his interest in blockchain technology. “The early view that tokens moved separately from macroeconomic cycles no longer holds,” Cooper said. “Digital assets now react to rate expectations in the same way as equities.”

Meanwhile, Bitcoin price slipped about 2 percent on Monday to around $112,000. Gadi Chait, head of investment at Xapo Bank, attributed the decline to short-term pressures from hawkish Fed minutes, ETF outflows, and trade uncertainty.

Ethereum’s approach toward $5,000 represents a key milestone for the token. While Bitcoin maintains its position as the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, Ethereum’s recent performance has narrowed the gap.