The crypto market is flashing signs of an altcoin season, and Ethereum is clearly in the driver’s seat. The price of ETH has surged over 28% since the beginning of August and is now trading less than 5% from its all-time high. This move is happening as the total crypto market cap pushes $4.2 trillion and the Altcoin Season Index has climbed from 39 to 53, a clear sign that capital is shifting to altcoins. At the same time, data from Google Trends shows that global search interest for “Ether” has hit a new peak. ETH’s developing story. This isn’t the first time ETH has led the charge. Here’s our report on the latest altcoin rally. Source: Google Trends Key On-chain Metrics Favoring Ethereum Bull Market The Ethereum bullish breakout towards its ATH is bolstered by robust fundamentals, as shown by on-chain data analysis. For example, CoinGlass data shows the ETH funding rate has rebounded in the past few days signaling bullish sentiment from perpetual contract traders. Source: CoinGlass Market data analysis from Glassnode has revealed a gradual increase in Ethereum’s Options Open Interest (OI) to a year-to-date high of around $16.1 billion. The notable surge in Ether OI has favored midterm bullish sentiment, especially amid the ongoing drop in Bitcoin demand by institutional investors. Source: Glassnode Institutional Capital Flows to Ether The Ethereum network has led in capital inflow from institutional investors in the last few weeks primarily fueled by clearer crypto regulations in the United States. For instance, market data from rwa.xyz shows the Ethereum network is an undisputed leader in tokenization of real-world assets with over $7.1 billion. According to market data analysis from SoSoValue, the U.S. spot Ether ETFs recorded $729 million in net cash inflow on Wednesday, August 13. Notably, BlackRock’s ETHA has led the cohorts with a cumulative net cash inflow of $11.3 billion to hold net assets valued at $15.9 billion. How high will Ethereum get this year? From a technical analysis standpoint, the ETH/USD pair is on the cusp of entering its bullish price discovery. The August bullish breakout has helped ETH price breakout from a multi-week megaphone structure with a midterm target of between $6k and $7k. Source: Kalshi According to speculative data from Kalshi, ETH price is headed for at least $6k before the end of 2025 following the bullish breakout from a major resistance range between $3.8k and $4.2k. So how high could it go? The technical target is $7k, but some analysts are looking even higher. Here’s CoinEdition’s report on the long-term price predictions for ETH. Disclaimer: The information presented in this article is for informational and educational purposes only. The article does not constitute financial advice or advice of any kind. Coin Edition is not responsible for any losses incurred as a result of the utilization of content, products, or services mentioned. Readers are advised to exercise caution before taking any action related to the company.