Ethereum strengthened its position in the digital asset market as ether continued its latest rally, rising more than 5% over 24 hours and reaching an intraday high of $3,563 on September 1, 2021. With that move, ETH’s market capitalization climbed to roughly $417.5 billion, giving it a 18.9% share of the broader $2.21 trillion crypto economy. At the same time, bitcoin’s market dominance slipped to 40%, underlining ethereum’s growing weight in the sector.
Strong Monthly Momentum Supports Ethereum’s Rise
The latest advance did not come in isolation. Over the prior two weeks, ether had gained 18.1%, and its 30-day performance showed a jump of about 39%. Those figures point to sustained momentum rather than a brief speculative spike. At the time covered by the source material, ETH was trading just above the $3,500 level, a price zone that had become a key focus for traders watching whether ethereum could extend its breakout.
Trading activity remained elevated. Of the roughly $158.5 billion in 24-hour global crypto trading volume, ether accounted for around $34.4 billion. That level of turnover highlighted ethereum’s continued liquidity and relevance as one of the market’s most actively traded assets.
Among trading pairs, USDT dominated ETH activity, representing 52.6% of all ether trades. It was followed by USD (14.84%), BTC (12.48%), BUSD (6.59%), EUR (2.90%), and KRW (2.32%). The heavy use of stablecoin pairs suggested that much of the market’s participation was being routed through dollar-linked liquidity rather than direct fiat rails.
Supply, Holder Profitability, and Ownership Trends
Ethereum’s circulating supply stood at approximately 117,343,977 ETH. According to IntoTheBlock data cited in the report, roughly 97% of current ETH holders were in profit at the time. That figure reflects how far the asset had recovered from earlier corrections and may also help explain the heightened market attention around ether’s renewed strength.
The same dataset showed that large-holder concentration was around 42%. In terms of holding behavior, 62% of ether holders had held their positions for a year or longer, while 31% had held for less than a year. These numbers suggest a holder base with a substantial long-term component, even as new demand and shorter-term market participants remained active during the latest price move.
Another notable metric was transaction size. Over the previous seven days, aggregate transactions worth more than $100,000 totaled approximately $95.66 billion. Large-value flows of that scale often indicate active participation from whales, institutions, high-net-worth traders, or large on-chain counterparties.
EIP-1559 Burn Passes $500 Million
One of the most closely watched ethereum metrics at the time was the burn introduced by EIP-1559. Data from Dune Analytics indicated that, as of September 1, 2021, more than $500 million worth of ether had been burned under the new fee mechanism. In token terms, that amounted to about 156,960 ETH.
The burn mechanism became a central part of the ethereum investment narrative because it permanently removes a portion of transaction fees from circulation. While the source article did not claim a direct causal relationship between the burn and the latest rally, the milestone reinforced market attention on supply dynamics and the possibility that heavy network usage could translate into meaningful issuance offset over time.
As ethereum’s ecosystem continued to attract decentralized finance, NFT, and on-chain application activity, the burn figure served as a visible indicator of network demand. For traders and analysts, it also provided a fresh fundamental data point alongside price and volume trends.
Technical Levels and Market Structure
The report noted that ether had pushed through the $3,500 area, with heavier resistance seen in the $3,600 to $3,700 range. From a technical standpoint, the hourly MACD was described as increasingly bullish, while the hourly RSI had moved back above 50, both of which were interpreted as signs of improving short-term momentum.
Ethereum’s correlation with bitcoin was also said to be lower than usual, at around 0.93. Although still high in absolute terms, a lower-than-normal correlation can be significant in crypto markets because it may indicate that ether is attracting more asset-specific demand rather than simply following broader market moves led by bitcoin.
Even after the latest rise, ETH remained about 18.5% below its all-time high of $4,356.99, which had been recorded on May 12, 2021. That meant the asset had recovered strongly but had not yet fully reclaimed its prior peak, leaving traders focused on whether the next leg higher could eventually test those historical levels again.
Long-Term Performance Still Stands Out
Viewed over a longer horizon, ethereum’s appreciation remained extraordinary. The article noted that ETH was up roughly 819,810.2% from its low of $0.432979 on October 20, 2015. That comparison highlights the scale of ethereum’s rise from an early-stage crypto project to one of the largest and most influential digital assets in the market.
Its expanding share of the total crypto economy, rising market cap, strong recent returns, and the growing impact of EIP-1559 all combined to keep ethereum at the center of investor attention. While price action remained the immediate headline, the broader picture was one of an asset that was not only rallying but also consolidating its structural importance within the digital asset ecosystem.
For market participants, the key questions going forward were whether ETH could sustain its position above $3,500, break through the $3,600-$3,700 resistance zone, and continue gaining share relative to the rest of the crypto market. The data in the source material suggested that, at least at that moment, ethereum had both momentum and market relevance firmly on its side.