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Growing risk appetite following US tariff deals and Pectra upgrade has improved the Ethereum market’s upside outlook.
Key takeaways:
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Ether is set for its best weekly gain since May 2021.
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Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade, mega-whale accumulation, and a major short squeeze fuel the rally.
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Technical patterns suggest a potential 40% rally toward $3,400 as ETH bounces off key support.
Ether (ETH) is on course to record its best weekly performance since May 2021, having risen by over 37.50% in the week ending May 11, including 10.30% gains in the last 24 hours.
US tariff updates, Pectra upgrade boost Ethereum
The announcement of a new trade agreement between the US and the UK on May 8 and the initiation of US-China trade talks afterward have bolstered upside sentiment in Ether and the broader crypto market.
Additionally, Ether benefits from its Pectra upgrade on May 7, which introduced key improvements like higher staking limits and account abstraction (EIP-7702) to make Ethereum easier and more flexible.
These upgrades are helping ETH’s price rise faster than the broader crypto market. Since May 8, Ether has gained over 34.3%, outperforming the crypto market’s 10.91% increase in total capitalization during the same period.
Bitcoin (BTC), despite breaking above the symbolic $100,000 mark, has also trailed Ethereum’s percentage gains.
Ethereum short squeeze boosts ETH price
Short liquidations in the Ethereum Futures market have been fueling upward momentum further.
Since May 8, traders betting against Ethereum have been forced to close their positions, with $437.94 million in short liquidations recorded. At the same time, $211.29 million in long liquidations have also occurred.
As prices climbed, short sellers had to buy back ETH to cover their losses, pushing the price even higher.
At the same time, Ethereum’s open interest—the total value of outstanding futures contracts—has increased sharply from $21.28 billion on May 8 to $26.77 billion on May 10.
Additionally, weekly funding rates for Ethereum perpetual futures rose from 0.10% to 0.15% during this period.
This rise in open interest shows more traders are entering the market and opening new positions. Higher funding rates indicate that more traders are going long (betting on higher prices) and are willing to pay extra fees to keep those positions open.
Both metrics signal bullish bias among Ethereum futures traders.
Ethereum rally precedes mega-whale accumulation
Ether’s price rally in the past days has preceded substantial accumulation among its “mega-whales,” i.e., wallets holding over 10,000 ETH.
The Glassnode chart illustrates that mega-whale net position change has flipped positive since late April, with whales steadily increasing their ETH holdings.
At the same time, the total supply held by these large entities has risen to its highest level since March 2025, surpassing 40.75 million ETH.
Related: Ethereum Foundation distributed $32.6M grants to ecosystem in Q1
This accumulation suggests that large investors are positioning for further price gains, boosting upside confidence across the Ethereum market.
Ether’s key support bounce hints at $3,400
Ethereum’s price is bouncing off a long-term ascending support line visible on the monthly chart, forming the lower boundary of a large symmetrical triangle pattern.
This bounce increases the likelihood of a move toward the triangle’s upper trendline near $3,400 in the coming months, up by around 40% from the current price levels.
Historically, ETH has seen strong rallies each time it touches this support, reinforcing the bullish outlook, which echoes Peter Brandt’s analysis that predicts ETH price to “moonshot” toward similar targets.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
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