Ethereum jumped more than 5% and touched $2,420 for the first time in months after crowd sentiment hit a three-month low and then reversed. ETF inflows and a wave of short liquidations added fuel, but a daily RSI above 86 now points to overbought conditions just below the $4,700 level analysts are watching.
Ethereum surged more than 5% on Friday, touching $2,420 for the first time in months and holding above $2,380 as several signals lined up ahead of the move.
According to crypto.news, ether opened at $2,327 on Aug. 21 before climbing to an intraday high near $2,448 and settling near $2,397, a 3% daily increase that followed a larger move carrying ETH from below $2,000 to more than $2,300 within two sessions. Market analyst Rain said ether gained 17.1% during the initial daily surge, pushing its weekly advance beyond 20% after clearing resistance between $1,980 and $2,000.
Sentiment collapsed just before the reversal
According to Santiment, ETH's crowd sentiment hit a three-month low on August 17, with its seven-day weighted sentiment average falling to its lowest reading in at least three months and turning negative. Two days later, ether reversed sharply higher.
The following day, Santiment's whale-dump anomaly fired once at roughly $7.55 million, compared with five events in each of the prior two weeks, while ether held on exchanges fell to about 6.54 million coins, the lowest level of the stretch. Santiment said the negative crowd sentiment did not cause the rally, but it did leave a record pile of shorts in its path.
ETF inflows and a short squeeze add fuel
US spot Ether ETFs pulled in $189 million in net inflows on Aug. 19, their strongest daily intake since October 2025, with BlackRock's ETHA accounting for about $122 million of that total. According to CoinGlass data cited by Invezz, more than $1 billion in ether shorts were liquidated during the breakout, part of a wider crypto liquidation event that exceeded $3 billion.
Macro conditions added another catalyst, as the US Treasury said it would at least double the size of buybacks for longer-dated nominal securities, from $2 billion to $4 billion per operation, starting Sept. 9.
Analysts eye $4,700 and an overbought RSI
Ether's daily relative strength index jumped to 86.12, well above the 70 level typically associated with overbought conditions. Crypto analyst Ted Pillows said a weekly close above $2,450 could open a move toward $3,000.
Michaël van de Poppe, founder of MN Fund, expects further upside though he flagged possible consolidation, seeing ether extend gains as long as it holds above $2,000, with short-term targets at $2,465 and potentially $2,900. Separately, Crypto Patel's chart shows ether up more than 55% from the $1,500 accumulation zone it highlighted earlier. It puts $4,700 as the key resistance, and says a break above it would put $10,000, $15,000, and $20,000 in view.
Sources: CryptoPotato, crypto.news
Trading involves risk.
Risk Disclaimer
