Crypto Liquidation Tops $388 Million as Ethereum Price Moves Closer to ATH

The crypto market took a major hit, with total liquidations reaching $388 million over the past day. More than 104,232 traders saw their positions wiped in just 24 hours, according to data from CoinGlass.

The liquidation spotlight is on Ethereum (ETH) as the altcoin moves closer to reclaiming its previous all-time high (ATH).

Ethereum Leads 24-hour Crypto Liquidations

Ethereum, which recently reclaimed the $4,000 level, is at the forefront of the 24-hour crypto liquidations. The altcoin experienced a total of $299.03 million worth of liquidations.

The bulk of liquidations came from short holders, which equated to $206.07 million. Meanwhile, long ETH holders accounted for only $22.96 million.

The magnitude of the ETH liquidation uncertainty increases among traders as they try to absorb the most recent price surge.

The ETH spotlight comes amid increased momentum in the price. Ethereum price reclaimed the $4,000 level on Friday, August 8, for the first time in 2025.

Over the past day, the ETH price has increased by 7.6% to $4,206. On the weekly and monthly charts, ETH price has surged 20.3% and 51.2%, respectively.

As the hope in Ethereum continues to build, the coin now inches closer towards its ATH of $4,867. The altcoin reached this milestone on November 10, 2021.

The Ethereum Buyer Momentum

Meanwhile, the recent ETH momentum has sparked a wave of new demand. In an X post, CoinGlass highlighted that ETH has seen fresh interest from both first-time and momentum buyers over the past few days.

According to the chart released by CoinGlass, first-time ETH buyers surged to over 40 million between July 9 and August 8, 2025. Within this period, ETH momentum buyers rallied to more than 35 million.

This growth rate is just proof that Ethereum has not slowed its pace in any form thus far this month.

With momentum increasing steadily, new entrants have outpaced strong selling pressure from profit-takers and loss sellers.

Note that the recent spike in whale activity and increased institutional interest have played a huge role in ETH adoption. For instance, one whale investor recently purchased 361 million worth of ETH.

In addition, Binance revealed its Ethereum holdings dropped 496,984 ETH in just a month. This decline comes on the heels of large ETH accumulation among corporations like SharpLink and Bitmine Technologies.

Analysts’ Forecast for ETH

With old and new buyers entering the ETH market, the future appears bright for the coin.

Earlier in the year, analysts predicted that ETH would reach a new all-time high of around $5,000.

The altcoin is about 16% away from the $5,000 mark. Thus, the $5,000 target is entirely possible, especially considering investors’ renewed interest.

In a bolder prediction, Fundstrat’s Tom Lee recently forecasted that ETH could hit $16,000. He cited favorable ETH/BTC ratio trends and the long-term macro outlook to back his prediction.

In contrast, market analyst EGRAG Crypto has raised mixed sentiments regarding ETH’s future price movement. Taking the X platform, EGRAG strongly disliked the leading altcoin.

However, he analyzed the technical potential of the ETH/BTC ratio. The analyst predicted a potential ETH rally if the ETH/BTC ratio closes above 0.039.

EGRAG revealed plans to short ETH/USD at a target level, using leverage. The analyst noted that he usually avoided this path in the past.

However, he said he is making an exception to boost his ETH portfolio.