Traders rejoice as Ethereum surges beyond $3,650 amidst institutional demand for ‘digital oil’

Traders on X celebrate as Ethereum bounces back to the $3,650 threshold and beyond. The rally is believed to be fueled by mounting institutional demand as ETH is likened to ‘digital oil.’

On July 18 at around 6:30 AM UTC, data from crypto.news showed that the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap is soaring high above $3,650. It managed to reach a peak at $3,669, barely touching the $3,800 level. At press time, it is trading hands at $3,651.

In the past 24 hours, the token has risen by 7.79% and even more than that in the past month. In the days leading up to the 10-year anniversary of ETH (ETH)’s debut into the crypto market, the token has increased in value by 22.24% in the past seven days and 43.9% in the past month.

Considering this is the first time since early January that ETH has reached this level, right after it dipped from a $4,000 high, traders on X have shared explosive reactions to Ethereum’s recent triumph in the crypto market.

“Woke up to $ETH at $3,600. What a time to be alive,” said one trader on X.

“So where are $SOL chads who were saying Ethereum is dead $ETH is moving towards $3,600 and this #bullrun it will break $10K for sure,” said another optimistic trader on X.

“ETH Back above $3,600. The Comeback is Real,” wrote another in a post.

The rise in value can be accumulated to mounting retail demand on-chain and the rising institutional demand from investors. According to data from OKX, the crypto exchange platform has seen a massive rise in inflows coming from Ethereum.

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In the past hour, Ethereum inflow on OKX reached $3.8 million with an outflow of $1.76 million, resulting in a net inflow of over $2.04 million.

More than 90% of the funds came from on-chain addresses. This means that users are actively transferring ETH to the platform, which may be related to the strengthening market sentiment.

In addition, data from SoSo Value shows that cumulative net inflow for U.S.-listed ETH spot ETF managed to reach a high of $7.09 billion as of July 17. Daily total net inflow has reached $602 million, just a day after it reached a record-high of $717 million in daily total inflows.

BlackRock’s ETHA continues to lead the charge with $546.7 million in recorded inflows. Fidelity and Grayscale are also major contributors, each boasting $17.19 million and $29.9 million i inflows respectively.

Is Ethereum the new ‘digital oil’?

Bitcoin (BTC) is not the only asset that has seen major institutional action lately. As more and more companies are jumping on the crypto treasury train, Ethereum has become an attractive asset for investors seeking an alternative asset aside from BTC and stablecoins to hedge them against the ever-evolving economic landscape.

In fact, many crypto figureheads like former Wall Street banker and Etherealize CEO Vivek Raman have started calling Ethereum “digital oil,” a comparison that echoes Bitcoin’s “digital gold” moniker.

The comparison stems from the fact that like oil powering machinery and transport, ETH needs to consume “gas” to power every transaction. Not only that, ever since ETH capped annual issuance to about 1.5% per year, it is similar to oil production which responds to market demand.

Earlier today, the Tom Lee-led crypto mining and ETH treasury firm Bitmine Immersion announced that its Ethereum holdings had surpassed $1 billion, more than triple the $250 million it raised in a private placement just a week earlier.

As previously reported by crypto.news, BitMine currently holds 300,657 ETH worth $1 billion, surpassing the Ethereum Foundation’s $665 million holdings by nearly $400 million.

Read more: Who controls Ethereum now? BitMine’s $1b ETH holdings surpass Vitalik’s foundation