Ether (ETH) recorded an impressive increase of 11.6% from December 10 to 13, recovering all losses from previous days. This increase is driven by strong capital inflows into spot Ether ETF funds and increased activity on the Ethereum network, contributing to strengthening investor confidence.
Capital Flows Into Ether ETF Funds
From December 9 to 11, spot Ether ETF funds attracted net capital inflows of up to $557 million. This is seen as a key factor driving the recovery in ETH prices, as investors seized the opportunity to buy at $3,550, expecting Ethereum to maintain its leading position in the blockchain ecosystem and decentralized applications (DApp).
Growth in Total Value Locked (TVL)
According to data from DefiLlama, the total value locked (TVL) on Ethereum has increased to $78 billion as of December 12, representing a 31% increase compared to 30 days prior. This growth is led by top protocols such as AAVE, EigenLayer, Athena, Binance Staking, Spark, and Pendle. Meanwhile, TVL on other networks like BNB Chain and Tron also increased by 10% and 18% respectively during the same period.
In absolute terms, Ethereum still holds the lead with outstanding deposit amounts. The closest competitor, Solana, currently only reaches $9.4 billion. Layer-2 solutions on Ethereum also add another $11 billion, thanks to extremely low transaction fees, while the average fee on Ethereum remains around $7.50.
DApp Transaction Volume and Competition
Transaction volume on Ethereum increased by 21% in the past week, reaching $24.3 billion as of December 12. Although Solana outperformed with on-chain transaction volume of $30.7 billion, Ethereum's layer-2 blockchains, including Base, Arbitrum, Polygon, and Optimism, surpassed Solana with a total transaction volume of $25.6 billion during the same period.
Currently, the Ethereum ecosystem accounts for about 47% of the DApp transaction volume market share, continuing to lead in key areas such as liquidity staking, lending, and synthetic assets. Although Solana has an advantage in the memecoin sector, Ethereum still maintains its position in the decentralized market.
Growth Forecast from Bitwise
In a report released on December 10, Bitwise - the leading cryptocurrency ETF provider - forecasted that ETH could reach $7,000 due to the development of ETF funds and layer-2 blockchains. The report also highlighted the increasing demand from stablecoins and real-world asset (RWA) financial projects.
Another factor driving positive sentiment is trading from World Liberty Financial, the DeFi organization related to US President-elect Donald Trump, as they exchanged USDC for Ether, raising their ETH holdings to over $55 million.
Short-Term Growth Expectations
Ether has risen 65% in the past three months, with short-term declines below $3,550 on December 10 indicating strong buying pressure. Currently, supporting factors such as on-chain activity and increased institutional demand continue to reinforce Ethereum's leading position, opening up price increase opportunities above $4,500 in the near future.
