On August 25, 2025, Ethereum experienced a sharp reversal just hours after reaching a new all-time high. According to CryptoComLearn, ETH peaked at $4,955 on August 24 (2:05 p.m. EST) before tumbling to as low as $4,352, marking a nearly 9% decline within 24 hours. The market capitalization, which had approached $600 billion, fell to roughly $529 billion, a single-day loss exceeding $60 billion.
Market-wide Sell-off and Massive Liquidations
The drop in ETH was part of a broader bearish sentiment that swept across the crypto market. Bitcoin (BTC), which had rallied after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's dovish Jackson Hole speech, slid to $110,584, its lowest since July 10, before recovering to above $112,000. Other high-cap altcoins also suffered: XRP fell 4.3%, SOL 6.8%, DOGE 8.9%, SUI 9.1%, and even the week's top performer LINK dropped 8%.
According to Coinglass liquidation data, ETH's plunge alone wiped out $221 million in long positions over 24 hours, while shorts worth nearly $45 million were also liquidated. Total ETH-linked liquidations reached $266.36 million, indicating a high degree of leverage and surprise among traders.
Institutions and Whales Stay Bullish
Despite the volatility, sentiment toward Ethereum remains strongly bullish. On-chain data shows that a Bitcoin OG who received 100,784 BTC seven years ago has been "frantically dumping" BTC for ETH over the past six days. Lookonchain reported that the address sold roughly 22,769 BTC on Hyperliquid in five days, using the proceeds to buy 472,920 ETH spot and open a 135,265 ETH long position.
Institutional interest is also accelerating. Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) announced on August 25 that it had acquired another 190,500 ETH, bringing its total holdings to 1.71 million ETH. Chairman Thomas Lee commented on the company's ability to raise capital from institutional investors at a rapid pace for the second consecutive week, stating: "We are leading our crypto treasury peers by both the velocity of raising crypto NAV per share and by the high trading liquidity of our stock."
A growing consensus among experts suggests that the escalating trend of institutions adding ETH to their treasuries, combined with sustained inflows from exchange-traded funds, signals strong upside potential. With the $5,000 price level now appearing certain, many Ethereum supporters are setting their sights on $10,000, a milestone that would push ETH's market capitalization well past $1 trillion.