Ether Volatility Spikes on Rally as Bitcoin Edges Back Toward Record Highs

ETH’s strength has been underpinned by pro-crypto regulatory signals and heavy inflows into ETFs, with traders betting on a retest of its all-time high, some say.

  • Ether (ETH) surged over 21% in the past week, reaching $4,300, while Bitcoin (BTC) rose 3% to hit record highs.
  • The S&P 500 and Nasdaq reached near all-time highs, driven by strong earnings despite political and economic challenges.
  • ETH’s performance is bolstered by regulatory support and ETF inflows, with expectations of continued price increases for both ETH and BTC.

Crypto markets began Monday on a high note, with ether (ETH) up more than 21% over the past seven days to $4,300 and bitcoin climbing 3% to within touching distance of record highs.

BTC led gains among majors in the past 24 hours, with Solana’s SOL and BNB Chain’s BNB (BNB) rising nearly 1%, but reversing all profit-taking from the weekend to start the week in green.

The S&P 500 recovered from last week’s post-payrolls dip to near all-time highs, while the Nasdaq set a new record on strong earnings, shrugging off political noise and fresh U.S. import taxes.

ETH has outperformed sharply against this macro backdrop, driving a divergence in short-dated implied volatility between majors.

Term structure on ETH is inverted, with long-dated vol expected to settle near 70%, while BTC’s curve is the opposite — short-dated vol heavily compressed with spot stuck around $120K. A month ago, markets priced just a 5% chance of ETH hitting $4.5K in August; spot has far outpaced those expectations

ETH’s strength has been underpinned by pro-crypto regulatory signals and heavy inflows into ETFs, with traders betting on a retest of its all-time high. Bitcoin, which has been slower to respond, is now showing signs of catching up, suggesting that institutions are less hesitant to add exposure across the board.