Ether Pumps to 5-Year High of $4.47K Alongside Tom Lee's Massive ETH Treasury Bet and Fed Rate Cut Hopes

Ether ETH$1,961.10 has climbed 5% in the past 24 hours to $4,470, its highest price since December 2021.

Helping the bullish action in crypto in general was Tuesday morning's Consumer Price Index report. While the data was mixed and inflation remains above the Federal Reserve's 2% target, market participants lifted bets on the U.S. central bank trimming interest rates at its next meeting in September.

Boosting ether in particular was a new massive leg higher in the growing corporate treasury strategy movement. Already the owner of roughly $5 billion in ETH, Tom Lee's Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) disclosed plans to raise up to $20 billion in capital for further purchases.

The move extends a months-long rally for the Ethereum network’s native token, which also continues to outperform bitcoin after years of severe relative weakeness. The ETH/BTC ratio rose above 0.37 on Tuesday, now higher by nearly 50% over the past month, though still lower by 15% year-over-year.

A key driver in recent weeks has been surging inflows into U.S. spot ether exchange-traded funds. On Monday, ether ETFs saw a record $1 billion in daily inflows, again surpassing their bitcoin equivalents.

“Ethereum’s outperformance today, with a gain of over 4% against Bitcoin’s muted move, reflects the market’s focus on its own set of powerful catalysts,” said Axel Rudolph, senior technical analyst at IG. “Institutional inflows into US spot ETH ETFs following the US's CPI print, coupled with growing confidence in the network’s recent upgrades, are proving far more compelling for investors than the broader macro-driven momentum underpinning bitcoin.”

Supporters have increasingly dubbed Ethereum “the blockchain of Wall Street,” pointing to its central role in tokenizing assets, hosting decentralized finance platforms and powering settlement systems that resemble traditional market infrastructure.

"We’re seeing a wave of renewed interest from institutional and sophisticated investors who view ETH as more than just a ‘second-place’ crypto," said David Siemer, co-founder and CEO of Wave Digital Assets. "They see it as the backbone of DeFi, tokenization, and the largest smart contract ecosystem."

"Given the backdrop of greater regulatory clarity out of the U.S. and the passing of the GENIUS Act, combined with ETH-focused digital asset treasuries such as Sharplink buying significant amounts of the token, and a resurgence in DeFi activity across ETH-focused protocols, it’s clear there is broader institutional interest in the ecosystem," he said.

If the Fed delivers the rate cut traders are betting on, the combination of looser monetary policy, strong ETF demand and strategic positioning by large investors could further fuel ETH’s run — although, as with past rallies, volatility may prove just as intense on the way down.

UPDATE (August 12, 17:53 UTC): Adds further commentary from David Siemer, co-founder and CEO of Wave Digital Assets.