Ethereum Price Breakout Targets $2,800 as ETF Inflows Surge

Ethereum (ETH) has gone up by 27% in the past 7 days following a move above the $2,000 mark that triggered massive short liquidations recently.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed regulatory framework for crypto assets was one of the catalysts that pushed crypto prices above key resistances and, potentially, out of their bearish cycle.

These rules give crypto projects the chance to raise capital without having to go through the usual listing process for traditional securities, paving the way for the sector’s growth in the North American country.

Moreover, the Treasury Department announced that it will double its bond buybacks starting in September — a move that will inject billions of dollars in liquidity into the financial markets.

Ethereum ETF Inflows Hit $1.2 Billion in August as Sentiment Recovers

Wall Street responded positively to the news. Investors have poured over $1.2 billion into exchange-traded funds (ETFs) linked to Ethereum. These have been the highest monthly inflows since August 2025, back when ETH hit its latest all-time high.

Moreover, market sentiment has made a U-turn, jumping from Fear territory below 40 to Extreme Greed at the time of writing at 80.

This is the highest level that the Crypto Fear and Greed Index has hit since December 2024 as well. Back then, ETH traded near the $4,000 area as well.

Now that investors have adopted a risk-on attitude, the price of ETH seems poised to hit higher thresholds. On-chain data also supports a bullish outlook, although our two buy signals have not yet been triggered.

The first of these signals tracks Ethereum’s trading volumes. The gap between the 7-day and 30-day moving averages has narrowed as a result of a recent spike in buying interest and ETH’s latest short squeeze.

However, we still need to see that 7-day MA crossing over its longer-term peer to confirm that momentum is strong enough to kickstart the next bull market. This signal has been 100% accurate in predicting the beginning of previous bullish cycles in the last three years.

The successful implementation of Ethereum’s Glamsterdam upgrade could be the next driver that the market needs to push the price of ETH to higher levels — similar to what happened with the Pectra upgrade back in April 2025.

ETH Historical Patterns Favor Retest of $2,200 Level Before Next Climb to $2.8K

Turning to the weekly chart, our 2026 Ethereum price prediction has now swung to a bullish outlook with a target set at $2,800 in the mid-term. This follows our accurate initial bearish forecast of $1,600 for the first half.

We now see a break above the $2,200 area as a buy signal that could result in a replay of the bull market that started in April-May 2025.

Similar to what happened back then, we could expect some sort of sideways consolidation between $2,200 and $2,800 for a while. Meanwhile, if we break past that ceiling, our long-term target for ETH for this cycle sits at $5,400 based on historical patterns.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) in this higher time frame has already hit extreme overbought levels at 88. As last time, this could lead to a pullback to $2,200. If that happens, that would give late buyers the chance to scoop up ETH at a more advantageous price point to position for the continuation of the rally.