Ethereum rallied above $4,700 on Wednesday, its highest level since November 2021 and within 3 % of the token’s record $4,878 peak. The second-largest cryptocurrency has climbed almost 30 % over the past week and more than 10 % since Monday, far outpacing bitcoin’s advance. The surge has forced a wave of short covering. Data from Coinglass show about $556 million of crypto positions liquidated in the past 24 hours, roughly three-quarters of them short bets. Within Ethereum, around $135 million of shorts were wiped out in a single hour as prices crossed $4,600, and total ETH short liquidations approached $300 million for the day. Market participants cite record inflows into newly listed Ethereum exchange-traded funds, corporate treasury purchases and growing regulatory clarity as key catalysts. The GENIUS Act, signed last month, created guardrails for U.S.-backed stablecoins, while the Securities and Exchange Commission’s “Project Crypto” initiative aims to modernize oversight of digital assets. Analysts say the measures have emboldened institutional investors and deepened liquidity. Bullish forecasts are multiplying. Prediction market Kalshi now values ETH at about $6,140 for 2025, up sharply in recent days. Standard Chartered on Wednesday raised its price targets to $7,500 by end-2025 and $25,000 by 2028, pointing to accelerating institutional accumulation. Traders are watching whether the token can break above $4,878 to enter fresh price discovery and test the $5,000 threshold.