The world of digital currencies got a jolt this Friday. Ethereum, often called Ether or ETH, saw its price jump dramatically. This sudden rise triggered massive sell-offs for traders betting on the wrong side. In fact, nearly half of all crypto market liquidations over the last 24 hours, totaling around $630 million, came from Ether positions alone.
Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, is now making headlines. Its value soared over 13% after the head of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, spoke at Jackson Hole. He hinted that the Fed might cut interest rates in September. Such news often makes investors feel more comfortable taking on risk, benefiting assets like cryptocurrencies.
Before Powell’s speech, the market felt a bit gloomy. Bitcoin, the biggest cryptocurrency, had dropped almost 10% from its recent peak of over $124,000, which it hit just last week. It even traded below $113,000 on Thursday. Ethereum had also dipped below $4,100 but kept a stronger position compared to Bitcoin.
The sentiment quickly changed. Bitcoin bounced back, climbing past $116,600, a 3.4% rise in 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data. But it was Ether that really stole the show. It led the market’s gains with its impressive over 13% surge.
Ether has been a hot topic in recent weeks. A new wave of interest from big institutional investors is a major reason. They’re pouring money into Ethereum Exchange Traded Funds, or ETFs. These funds have pulled in nearly $8 billion since July. Plus, companies are aggressively buying Ether for their treasuries. Both actions are strong signs that investors expect its price to keep climbing.
By Friday afternoon, Ether hit $4,770 on the charts. This put it just 2.6% shy of its all-time high of $4,880, a record set in 2021. For the month, Ether has surged 32.6%, while Bitcoin has actually seen a 1.2% loss.
This quick jump caught many derivatives traders off guard. It caused a wave of liquidations, where trading platforms automatically close out positions to prevent further losses. Ether saw over $300 million in liquidations. About $225 million of this came from “short” positions, meaning traders had bet that Ether’s price would fall. Coinglass data shows these bearish bets were swept away.
Across the entire crypto market, around $621 million in positions were liquidated since yesterday. Ethereum was responsible for nearly half of this total. Bearish bets accounted for $380.4 million of these liquidations, affecting roughly 150,000 individual traders.
Powell’s softer tone and the possibility of a rate cut next month directly helped risk assets like Bitcoin and Ether. However, the large volume of liquidations shows just how quickly the market can become volatile. Other altcoins like XRP, BNB, and SOL also rode the wave, with gains between 5% and 8%. The overall crypto market capitalization rose about 5% for the day.