As of this writing, ETH is trading near $3,800, posting a robust 3.8% gain over 24 hours, +25.2% for the week, and a staggering 50% monthly rally according to CoinMarketCap.

Top 3 Most Capitalized Crypto Assets.Top-3 crypto assets. Source:  CoinMarketCap  .

Lee’s thesis leverages Farrell’s approach, which values Ethereum using EBITDA multiples familiar from traditional finance—applying frameworks used for software firms and blockchain infrastructure companies like Circle. Fundstrat’s view is that Layer-1 chains like Ethereum deserve premium multiples as foundational platforms for entire digital ecosystems, much as software companies command higher valuations than consumer firms.

Mark Newton, Fundstrat’s technical strategy lead, supports Lee’s view with chart analysis—projecting a rally to $4,000 by the end of July as a near-term target.

Lee has reiterated in interviews, including a recent appearance on CNBC, that Ethereum remains Wall Street’s top pick for blockchain infrastructure. He highlights that leading institutional projects, including JPMorgan’s JPMD token and Robinhood’s tokenization initiatives, are being built directly on Ethereum.

The Fundstrat founder also sees the real-world asset (RWA) sector as a major growth engine, particularly amid surging demand for stablecoins—a key Ethereum use case.

“Whale” Demand and Institutional Flows

Ethereum’s recent price surge is strongly supported by massive inflows into U.S. spot ETH ETFs and the expansion of corporate ETH treasuries. Strategic reserve data show Bitmine Immersion Tech and SharpLink Gaming boosting their Ethereum holdings by 84% and 59% respectively—together approaching 600,000 ETH ($2.2B+). Meanwhile, the Ethereum Foundation’s reserves declined 7.68%.

Statistics on corporate strategic Ethereum reserves. Strategic ETH reserves by corporations. Source: Strategic ETH Reserve  .

Joseph Lubin, SharpLink’s chairman and Ethereum co-founder, recently flagged intensifying competition among ETH-focused corporates: “The game is on.”

The ETF flows have been unprecedented. Net spot ETH-ETF inflows topped $2B last week—a record 11-day positive streak—while cumulative ETF assets under management now exceed $18B, with total inflows since launch reaching $7.49B.

Ethereum ETF Inflow Dynamics.ETH-ETF net inflows, SoSoValue

Major on-chain transactions reinforce this institutional “whale” narrative. Over the weekend, on-chain analyst EmberCN tracked a large holder scooping up about $50M in ETH at an average price of $3,714. Researcher Ali Martinez reports over 500,000 ETH accumulated by big players in just two weeks.

Short Squeeze and “Altseason” Index Surging

With Ethereum approaching $4,000, analyst Crypto Banter warns that more than $330M in short positions could be liquidated—creating a classic short squeeze. Forced covering of shorts, especially in highly-leveraged environments, can fuel further upside as sellers scramble to buy back their positions, amplifying bullish momentum.

The rally is being widely interpreted as an “altseason” trigger. The Altseason Index has surged from 16 last month to 59 this week, crossing the “Equator” (50 threshold) for the first time since December’s all-time high of 83.

Dynamics of the Altseason Index: bullish momentum

Top traders like Pentoshi point to the largest Bitcoin dominance decline in four years as a sign that capital is rotating from BTC into ETH.

The prevailing driver, he argues, is FOMO—fear of missing out—rather than purely fundamentals, while analyst Benjamin Cowen highlights that altcoins still lag ETH, though Ethereum itself is absorbing a disproportionately large share of the market flows, echoing BTC’s role in earlier bull cycles.

Legendary chartist Peter Brandt has also confirmed that the altcoin season has begun, echoing recent research from Santiment.