Ethereum’s Biggest Weekly Gain Since May 2025: Can ETH Hold the Rally?

Summary

Ethereum has completed one of its strongest weekly rebounds in more than a year. MEXC's August 25 market report showed ETH up 31.1% over the preceding week, while BitMine said Ethereum's weekly gain exceeded 30%, its strongest weekly performance since May 2025. MEXC Alpha Trader – Industry Daily, August 25, 2026

The initial causes of the rally are now relatively clear: improving macro liquidity expectations, a broad Bitcoin-led crypto rebound, heavy ETH short liquidations and stronger ETF inflows.

The more important SEO and market question has changed.

It is no longer simply “Why is Ethereum going up?”

It is now:

Can ETH hold these gains after the short squeeze fades?

That depends increasingly on spot demand, Ethereum ETF flows, ETH/BTC relative strength, institutional accumulation and whether leverage remains controlled.

How Much Did Ethereum Rise?

Ethereum rose by around 30% in a single week.

BitMine's August 24 corporate update described the move as ETH's largest weekly gain since May 2025. The company also noted that a weekly move of similar magnitude had previously occurred in July 2021. Those historical observations are factual, but they should not be interpreted as evidence that Ethereum must repeat its subsequent performance. BitMine’s August 24 corporate update

MEXC's August 25 Alpha Trader report put ETH near $2,456 after a 31.1% weekly gain, compared with a 23.5% weekly increase in Bitcoin. View MEXC’s August 25 market report

That relative outperformance is important because the rally has evolved beyond a simple Bitcoin beta trade.

The First Phase Was a Short Squeeze

The most explosive stage of ETH's move was heavily influenced by bearish derivatives positioning.

On August 21, MEXC Alpha Trader reported:

MEXC Alpha Trader – Industry Daily, August 21, 2026

This explains why Ethereum could move so quickly.

When leveraged short positions are liquidated, traders are forced to close bearish exposure. That creates additional buying demand.

But forced buying has an obvious limitation:

Eventually the shorts are gone.

For Ethereum to hold higher levels, organic buyers must replace liquidation-driven demand.

Why the Next Phase of the ETH Rally Is Different

An explosive breakout and a sustainable uptrend are not the same thing.

During the first stage, traders mostly needed to understand what triggered the rally.

MEXC already covered that search intent in Why Is Ethereum Price Up 18%? ETH Breaks $2,200 as Shorts Get Liquidated.

After a 30% weekly gain, the market must answer different questions:

Is real spot capital still entering?

Are ETFs continuing to accumulate ETH?

Is Ethereum maintaining strength against Bitcoin?

Are investors adding leverage faster than actual demand?

Are institutional treasury buyers still active at higher prices?

Those indicators will determine whether the rally evolves into a more durable repricing or simply becomes a sharp short-covering event.

Factor 1: Ethereum ETF Flows Need to Stay Positive

One of the strongest improvements during the latest rally has been the return of regulated investment flows.

MEXC reported that U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs attracted approximately $697.2 million in weekly net inflows, while Bitcoin ETFs drew around $1.9 billion. Combined trading volume across the two ETF categories reached approximately $29 billion. MEXC Alpha Trader – August 24 ETF flow data

ETF demand matters more after a rally than during the first breakout.

Why?

Because investors buying an ETF after ETH has already risen sharply are demonstrating willingness to establish exposure at a higher valuation.

If ETF inflows remain positive during pullbacks, that would provide stronger evidence of sustained demand.

If they quickly reverse into outflows, the rally would become more dependent on traders and derivatives.

Factor 2: ETH/BTC Is Now a Key Confirmation Signal

Ethereum's performance should not be measured only against the dollar.

CoinDesk reported on August 24 that ETH/BTC had formed a bullish golden cross, with the 50-day moving average moving above the 200-day moving average. CoinDesk’s ETH/BTC golden-cross analysis

This matters because a rising ETH/BTC ratio means Ethereum is outperforming Bitcoin.

If ETH rises only because BTC rises, Ethereum has not necessarily developed independent relative strength.

If ETH/BTC continues higher, it indicates that investors are actively allocating more value toward Ethereum than toward Bitcoin.

The detailed technical implications are better treated as a separate search intent rather than repeating the price-rally story.

Factor 3: Institutional Ethereum Treasuries Are Still Accumulating

Corporate ETH accumulation has become another source of market demand.

BitMine announced on August 24 that it had acquired an additional 32,447 ETH during the previous week, taking total holdings to 5,847,611 ETH.

The company said this represented approximately 4.8% of Ethereum's 120.7 million ETH supply. BitMine’s official August 24 announcement

The Block independently reported the new holdings and the additional weekly purchase. The Block’s report on BitMine’s latest ETH acquisition

Corporate treasury buying cannot by itself explain Ethereum's global price.

However, it matters because large strategic holders can reduce the amount of ETH that is actively circulating in short-term markets, particularly if the assets are subsequently staked.

Factor 4: A Large Share of ETH Is Staked

Ethereum.org reports that more than 42 million ETH, approximately 34% of the asset, is currently staked to support Ethereum's proof-of-stake network. Ethereum.org’s official staking information

BitMine alone reported 5,067,309 ETH staked as of August 23. BitMine’s latest staking disclosure

Staking does not permanently remove ETH from circulation.

Validators can exit, and liquid staking products can provide tradable representations of staked ETH.

Nevertheless, the amount of ETH committed to staking is relevant when evaluating the liquid supply available to absorb sudden changes in demand.

Factor 5: The Macro Catalyst Has Not Disappeared

The initial crypto rally followed the U.S. Treasury's August 19 announcement that it would increase liquidity-support buybacks for longer-dated nominal Treasury securities.

The maximum size of individual operations in the 10-to-20-year and 20-to-30-year sectors will increase from $2 billion to at least $4 billion beginning September 9. Read the U.S. Treasury announcement

This does not amount to Federal Reserve quantitative easing.

The Treasury explicitly describes the operations as liquidity support for specific parts of the Treasury market.

For crypto, the important question is whether broader financial conditions remain supportive after the initial market reaction.

Ethereum is a high-volatility asset. If yields rise sharply again or investors move away from risk, ETH can also reverse faster than Bitcoin.

What Could Keep Ethereum Going Up?

For the rally to become more durable, the market would ideally shift from forced buying toward sustained demand.

No single indicator is sufficient.

The strongest continuation would involve several of them improving simultaneously.

Could Ethereum Fall After a 30% Weekly Gain?

Yes.

A large rally can create its own risks.

Traders who bought before the breakout may take profits. New investors may chase the move using leverage. Funding rates can become increasingly expensive, and a crowded long market can produce the opposite of the original short squeeze.

Ethereum also remains more volatile than many traditional financial assets.

A pullback would therefore not necessarily invalidate the longer-term thesis, just as a 30% weekly rally does not automatically establish a new bull market.

Why Ethereum Fundamentals Still Matter

Ethereum is not only a tradable asset.

It is a programmable blockchain used for smart contracts, stablecoins, decentralized finance, tokenization and other applications.

ETH also secures the network through staking and is used to pay Ethereum transaction fees.

MEXC Learn provides a broader introduction in What Is Ethereum and How Does It Work? and a more network-focused explanation in Ethereum Network: What It Is, How It Works, and Why It Matters.

These fundamentals did not suddenly appear during the latest rally.

What changed was the market's willingness to pay a higher price for exposure to them.

FAQ

Why has Ethereum gone up so much?

The latest rally was driven by a combination of improving macro liquidity expectations, a broad crypto rebound, Ethereum short liquidations, ETF inflows and renewed institutional accumulation. No single catalyst explains the entire move.

How much did Ethereum rise in one week?

MEXC reported a 31.1% weekly ETH gain in its August 25 market update. BitMine separately described ETH's weekly gain as more than 30% and the largest since May 2025. MEXC August 25 market update

Are Ethereum ETF inflows still important?

Yes. U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs recorded approximately $697.2 million of weekly net inflows in the latest reported period. Persistent inflows would provide stronger evidence that regulated investment demand is supporting ETH. MEXC August 24 ETF data

Is Ethereum outperforming Bitcoin?

It has over the latest weekly period. ETH gained about 31.1% versus Bitcoin's 23.5% in MEXC's August 25 report, and ETH/BTC has also produced a bullish technical crossover. CoinDesk’s ETH/BTC analysis

Can Ethereum keep rising after a 30% weekly gain?

It can, but continuation is not guaranteed. ETF flows, spot demand, ETH/BTC strength, derivatives leverage and macro conditions will matter more once the short squeeze fades.

Could ETH fall sharply after the rally?

Yes. Rapid price appreciation can encourage profit-taking and excessive leverage. Ethereum remains a highly volatile asset and can experience substantial corrections even within stronger market trends.

Risk Disclaimer: The information above is provided for educational purposes and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Historical returns, ETF flows and technical signals do not guarantee future ETH performance.