Ethereum surged past $4,500 on 12 August, its highest level in nearly four years and within 7 percent of the all-time high set in November 2021. The token is now up roughly 35 percent this year, outperforming Bitcoin’s 28 percent rise. Institutional demand underpinned the move. U.S. spot Ether exchange-traded funds attracted more than $1 billion of net inflows on Monday, their biggest daily haul to date and about five times the day’s flows into comparable Bitcoin products. On-chain trackers also recorded a mystery buyer amassing 312,000 ETH—valued at about $1.34 billion—while other large wallets withdrew tens of thousands of coins from major exchanges. Corporate treasuries are intensifying purchases. BitMine Immersion Technologies, chaired by strategist Tom Lee, filed a supplementary prospectus lifting the ceiling of its at-the-market equity programme to $24.5 billion from $4.5 billion. The company said proceeds will largely fund additional Ether acquisitions. BitMine already owns about 1.15 million ETH, worth nearly $5 billion, and has set a goal of controlling 5 percent of the network’s supply. SharpLink Gaming, the second-largest listed Ether holder, disclosed a fresh purchase of 5,226 ETH, bringing its stash to roughly 604,000 coins—or about $2.7 billion at current prices. Analysts estimate that ETFs and corporate treasuries now command close to 8 percent of circulating Ether, tightening market liquidity as investors look ahead to possible Federal Reserve rate cuts later this year. With record ETF inflows, expanding corporate stock-sale programmes and continued whale accumulation, traders are watching whether Ether can reclaim—and exceed—its November 2021 peak in the days ahead.