Ether outpaced its crypto peers on Friday, jumping as much as 7% as mixed U.S. inflation data revived risk appetite across the market. The bounce squeezed crowded short positions into hundreds of millions of dollars in liquidations, while traders now price higher odds of a Fed rate hike at next week's FOMC meeting.
Ether jumped as much as 7% on Friday, trading above $2,600 and still running around 4% higher on the day at the time of writing.
The move left Bitcoin flat, up just 0.33%, while Solana and other majors gained roughly 2% over the past 24 hours.
Friday's CPI print came in mixed, with a hotter headline number offset by a cooler core reading. Markets shrugged the data off, flipping sentiment from Thursday's PPI-driven jitters back toward risk-on.
The bounce also triggered a short squeeze, as crowded ETH short bets unwound. That squeeze forced hundreds of millions of dollars in liquidations, with one outsized position wipeout on Hyperliquid accounting for much of the total.
Traders now price mid-to-high 80% odds of a Fed rate hike at next week's FOMC meeting, up from around 70% a day earlier. A hike paired with a hawkish signal could stall Ether's rally, while a softer tone from Fed Chair Warsh afterward could let the move continue.
Source: Bankless
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