Ethereum (ETH) has surged past the $3,650 mark for the first time since January. This spike is supported by increased institutional inflows and heightened retail activity across major exchanges.

Ethereum Price Surpasses $3,650 Backed by Market Momentum

On July 18, Ethereum reached a peak of $3,669, showing a 7.79% gain in 24 hours. The price spike occurred just days before the 10th anniversary of Ethereum’s launch. According to CoinMarketCap data, ETH is now up 43.9% over the past month and 22.24% in the past seven days.

At press time, Ethereum is trading at $3,651. On-chain activity has surged, with users moving large volumes of ETH to exchanges. This behavior suggests strong market confidence in ETH as an asset.

Institutional Demand Strengthens ETH as ‘Digital Oil’

Large-scale investors are increasingly showing interest in Ethereum, mirroring the institutional demand once reserved for Bitcoin. Data from SoSoValue reports that U.S.-listed spot Ethereum ETFs recorded a cumulative net inflow of $7.09 billion as of July 17.

Daily inflows reached $602 million, slightly below the previous day’s record of $717 million. BlackRock’s ETHA leads with $546.7 million in inflows, followed by Grayscale at $29.9 million and Fidelity at $17.19 million.

OKX also reported a net inflow of $2.04 million in ETH. More than 90% of these funds originated from on-chain wallets. This confirms rising confidence in Ethereum among both retail and institutional participants.

Ethereum Inflows Push Exchange Activity Higher

The trading platform offered by OKX registered heavy ETH deposits within a short time. During this period, the exchange had experienced inflows and outflow of US3.8 million and US1.76million respectively in a space of one hour. The net flow of funds was more than 2 million dollars which indicated higher interest by traders.

This action is reflecting an increasing market mood toward the decade anniversary of Ethereum. BitMine Immersion, which is headed by Tom Lee has recently declared that it was in possession of over a billion dollars worth of Ethereum. This company now possesses more than 300,000 ETH that is more than Ethereum Foundation possesses in its treasury.

This update of BitMine follows a $250 million private fundraising event, implying increased interest in ETH as a treasury asset by institutional investors.

Ethereum’s ‘Digital Oil’ Narrative Gains Ground

It is now being referred to as the digital oil in comparison to Bitcoin, which acts as the digital gold. A former Wall Street banker, who is the CEO of Etherealize, Vivek Raman, substantiates this story. He stated that ETH is responsible for driving smart contracts, which means that it cannot be done without it.

The ETH deflationary model also fuels the comparison. The supply of ETH resembles such commodities as oil and is equal to 1.5 percent per year as it reacts to the needs.

Daily adoption of Ethereum is still on the increase, with an increase in the number of developers that are creating on the blockchain. This demand, along with its limited issuance and usefulness of its network, is strengthening its value proposition towards investors who opt to hold it in the long term.