Ethereum Price to $4K Amid Sustained ETF Inflow & Institutional Demand?

Key Insights:

• Analyst says Ethereum price would remain bullish if it continues to sustain above $3,200 level.
• Ethereum ETFs resume inflow streak, leading to projections as high as $4,000 in the near term
• World Liberty Financial sells WBTC to buy ETH, suggesting confidence in the leading altcoin

Ethereum (ETH) price is eyeing the $4,000 milestone amid a recovery in the exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The renewed confidence demonstrated by institutional investors aligns with huge ETH whale transfers.

Major Ethereum ETH Price Levels to Watch

Popular crypto analyst Ted Pillows on X has shared an optimistic outlook for the Ethereum (ETH) price. The analyst released a chart that showed Ethereum witnessed its first red candle after 6 consecutive days of trading in the green.

Although the leading altcoin ended a run of consecutive gains, Ted believes it is necessary. He explained that Ethereum has now cleared most late longs, making the future rally more sustainable.

Furthermore, Ted Pillows highlighted the $3,200 level as the key level to watch for the next major move. He believes the ETH price bullish trend will remain intact as long as the coin stays above $3,200.

As of this writing, the ETH price is traded at $3,212, down 0.6% over the previous day. Despite the daily price decline, Ethereum price is still up 7.6% and 2.5% over the past week and month, respectively.

Therefore, ETH is possibly consolidating and awaiting a major move ahead to pick up its already ignited fire. Analysts already predicted that the Ethereum price could target $3,500. This projection draws on the recent positivity around Bitmine staking over $1.6 billion in ETH.

Ethereum ETF Resume Inflow Streak

In a more bold prediction, Ethereum price is expected to reach the $4,000 mark. This target, however, is fueled by the resumption of inflows into the Ethereum ETF market.

According to data from Farside Investors, the Ethereum ETF amassed inflows reaching $114.7 million on Tuesday, January 6, 2025.

BlackRock’s ETHA saw the highlighted inflows, which amounted to $198.8 million. Notably, this is the third consecutive day of inflows that began on January 2.

On this day, the ETH ETF inflows reached $174.5 million, but dropped to $168 million on January 5.

Notably, the huge inflows into the ETH ETFs suggest confidence from institutional investors. They are likely betting on the future of the altcoin, anticipating more price rallies in the future.

Despite momentum returning to the Ethereum ETF, these investment instruments have dropped 18% below October peaks. This is attributed to the Ethereum price drops within the same period.

Meanwhile, Wall Street giant Morgan Stanley recently showed interest in launching an ETH ETF. Morgan Stanley submitted an S-1 with the U.S. SEC, aiming to generate returns by tracking the spot prices of ETH.

World Liberty Financial Sells WBTC for ETH

World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a high-profile DeFi project, is another top institution that has shown interest in Ethereum.

On-chain data analytics platform Lookochain spotlighted WLFI as a whale investor reducing exposure for Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC). In exchange, the platform bought a huge stash of ETH coins.

However, World Liberty Financial did not perform a full dump of WBTC, but did a partial rebalance. The project withdrew 162.69 WBTC, valued at about $14.98 million, from Aave, a major DeFi lending protocol.

Of the withdrawn amount, they immediately swapped 27.12 WBTC, valued at approximately $2.5 million, for 770.6 Ethereum.

WLFI increasing ETH exposure aligns with Ethereum growth in DeFi, staking, layer-2 scaling, and institutional adoption. It also reflects broader trends where projects favor native chain assets.

Crypto traders often view such moves from influential entities as positive for ETH sentiment. It could influence other traditional and blockchain giants to shift attention to Ethereum.