Ethereum Pushes Past $2,650 as Whale Activity Surges and Network Fundamentals Support

Ethereum's price surged to an eight-month high above $2,650 on Friday, marking its strongest level since January. The move was driven by a sharp increase in large-transaction activity and record wallet growth, signaling renewed engagement from major holders across the network.

Data from on-chain analytics platform Santiment showed ETH trading near $2,652, up roughly 5.6% over 24 hours and about 4.8% for the week. The rally unfolded against a turbulent macro backdrop, with the Federal Reserve raising its benchmark rate by 25 basis points midweek.

The Ethereum breakout coincided with a notable uptick in transactions exceeding $100,000, with approximately 1,550 such transfers at the latest reading. Santiment emphasized that this metric does not reveal whether large holders are accumulating or distributing, but the increased frequency underscores their growing participation as prices move higher.

Network fundamentals provided additional context, with more than 40 million ETH currently staked and a decentralized finance ecosystem holding approximately $50 billion in total value locked across lending protocols, decentralized exchanges, and stablecoin platforms. These factors reduce the amount of ETH immediately available for trading and create structural demand beyond spot speculation.