TL;DR
- An unknown institution bought 221,166 ETH worth nearly $1 billion over the last week, using six different wallets holding between $128 million and $181 million each.
- Ethereum’s market cap surged to $523 billion, overtaking Mastercard’s $519 billion.
- Publicly traded companies added over 304,000 ETH to their treasuries last week, signaling growing institutional interest and confidence in the asset.
An unidentified institution has accumulated almost $1 billion worth of Ether in the past week, according to blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain. This entity has been buying aggressively through six separate wallets, each holding between $128 million and $181 million in ETH. The Ether was acquired mainly from Galaxy Digital, FalconX, and BitGo. In the last 24 hours alone, this buyer spent $212 million on Ether at an average price around $4,300, demonstrating strong conviction in the cryptocurrency’s future potential.
This intense buying spree coincides with a growing number of large Ether holders. Wallets containing over 10,000 ETH reached 868,886, the highest in a year, as reported by Glassnode. Such a surge in large holders indicates increasing confidence among institutional and whale investors. Public companies have also increased their Ether holdings significantly; more than 304,000 ETH, worth about $1.3 billion, was added to their treasuries last week. BitMine Immersion Technologies led corporate acquisitions, buying more than 208,000 ETH ($900 million), followed by SharpLink Gaming with $303 million worth of Ether.
Ethereum Market Cap Surpasses Mastercard Amid Rally
Ether’s strong performance has pushed Ethereum’s market capitalization to $523 billion, surpassing Mastercard’s $519 billion, per CompaniesMarketCap. Ether recently traded above $4,300, a price not seen since late 2021. The asset’s 21% weekly gain was driven by significant institutional demand combined with steady retail interest. This rally shows Ethereum’s expanding influence beyond the crypto sector into traditional finance markets worldwide.
Technical analysts are optimistic, predicting that Ether could reach $20,000 within six to eight months. Analyst Nilesh Verma points to historical price fractals supporting this outlook. Merlijn The Trader suggests ETH might even exceed this target. However, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin warns against excessive risk-taking, emphasizing that corporate purchases should avoid becoming an “overleveraged game” to maintain long-term market stability.
Current market data shows ETH priced around $4,180.75 with a 24-hour trading volume near $38.25 billion, reflecting a minor dip of 0.35%. Ethereum’s market cap remains solid at about $505 billion, reinforcing its status as a top digital asset with increasing institutional backing and growing global adoption.
