Institutional Buying Keeps Ethereum Price Afloat Near $2,500

Ethereum's price has been holding steady near $2,500 due to sustained institutional buying. According to data from SoSoValue, Ethereum ETF inflows have been reported for nine consecutive days, with a net influx of $102 million on August 28.

This influx of institutional money is a significant factor in supporting the price of Ethereum, particularly after it slipped by 3.60% in the past 24 hours. The recent rally that pushed Ethereum above $2,400 has been followed by a natural pullback as holders who bought lower began selling at a profit.

However, on-chain data suggests that sellers are realizing profits rather than losses, with the Spent Output Profit Ratio (SOPR) remaining above 1 for the past week. This indicates that holders have an incentive to cash out, which could continue to drive price upward.

Despite this, network activity has declined, with transaction counts and active addresses decreasing over the past week. This divergence between price momentum and on-chain activity is a cautionary sign that Ethereum's price may stall without a pickup in actual usage.