Ether (ETH) has demonstrated significant strength, propelled by a powerful combination of favorable macroeconomic data, promising geopolitical developments, and robust on-chain fundamentals. The digital asset surged impressively after a draft U.S.–China trade framework was announced, which was followed by a softer-than-expected U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) report. These catalysts ignited a risk-on sentiment across markets, vaulting ETH from the $2,770 range to an intraday high of $2,873.46. The move was validated by a substantial increase in spot volume, with approximately 527,000 ETH, valued at over $1.47 billion, changing hands during the rally, confirming strong buying conviction.

The initial momentum began late on a Tuesday evening when reports surfaced of a potential trade agreement that would see Beijing resume critical rare-earth exports in exchange for Washington easing restrictions on technology sales. The news provided an initial lift to ETH, pushing it toward $2,780. This sentiment was supercharged the following morning, around 8:30 a.m. ET, when the U.S. Labor Department revealed that both headline and core CPI for May rose by only 0.1%, below economists' forecasts. This cooled inflation fears and increased expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut later this year, causing the U.S. dollar to weaken and risk assets like Ethereum to soar. The price action established a clear upward channel, with a series of higher lows since early June and a decisive breakout above the $2,800 resistance level.

Ethereum's On-Chain Strength and Institutional Adoption

Beneath the surface of this macro-driven rally lies a foundation of incredibly strong network fundamentals and accelerating institutional engagement. These structural tailwinds provide the underlying support for the price surge. According to data reported by CoinShares, ether investment products have seen nearly $2.9 billion in year-to-date inflows, with recent reports showing BlackRock alone accumulating a reported $500 million over a ten-day period. This institutional appetite is a key driver of demand. Furthermore, the amount of staked ETH has climbed to a new all-time high of 34.65 million tokens, which represents about 28.7% of the total circulating supply. This, combined with a declining ETH balance on exchanges, significantly reduces the available liquid supply, creating a supply squeeze that can amplify upward price movements.

Ecosystem Developments Bolster Long-Term Confidence

The long-term investment thesis for Ethereum is further enhanced by significant developments within its ecosystem. Retail trading giant Robinhood recently announced it is developing its own Layer-2 network utilizing Arbitrum's technology stack. While still in development, this move is a massive vote of confidence in Ethereum's scaling roadmap and is expected to eventually integrate features like native ETH staking and tokenized assets. Separately, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin introduced a new digital identity framework using zero-knowledge proofs, a critical step for privacy-preserving decentralized applications. This ongoing innovation, highlighted at events like EthCC in France, showcases the vibrant developer activity that continues to build value on the network. From a trading perspective, ETH/BTC has also shown relative strength, though it currently trades at 0.02295, a critical ratio to watch. A decisive close above the $2,900 level for ETHUSD could pave the way for a test of the psychological $3,000 mark, with traders now eyeing the newly formed support band between $2,750 and $2,760 for potential entry points.