Key Highlights
- Ethereum reached a daily high of $2,444.20 at 14:25 on Aug. 21, bringing the $2,500 level within reach.
- More than $237 million in ETH shorts were liquidated over 24 hours, compared with $65.14 million in longs.
- Traders are increasingly discussing $3,000 as Ethereum’s next upside target after its 26% weekly rally.
Ethereum traders are turning their attention toward $3,000 after ETH extended its recovery on Aug. 21 and came within a few dollars of the $2,450 mark.
The second-largest cryptocurrency reached a daily high of $2,444.20 at 14:25 on Aug. 21, according to CoinGlass data. ETH later eased to around $2,379.84, but remained up approximately 4.5% over the previous 24 hours.
The latest move extends Ethereum’s seven-day gain to 26.4%, while the token is now up 23.5% over 30 days and 15.34% over the past 90 days.
The speed of the recovery has also started changing short-term price expectations. Trader Abbas Khan said $3,000 is the “next step” after ETH moved above $2,400, reflecting growing confidence that the current rally could extend beyond the recent breakout.
Ethereum Short Squeeze Accelerates Rally
Derivatives data shows that bearish positioning was caught heavily on the wrong side of Ethereum’s latest move.
Ethereum liquidations reached $302.59 million over the past 24 hours, with short positions accounting for $237.44 million of the total. Long liquidations stood at $65.14 million.
The imbalance became particularly visible over the 12-hour period, when $118.58 million in shorts were liquidated compared with $48.19 million in longs.
Forced buying from short liquidations can accelerate an already rising market as traders close bearish positions, adding further demand during the move.
ETH’s rally toward $2,450 prompted trader CoinMamba to argue that the asset could move toward $3,000 in a sharp candle. The call remains a trader forecast rather than a confirmed technical target, but it highlights how quickly expectations have shifted following the breakout.
ETH Futures Volume Hits $94 Billion
Ethereum’s rally has been accompanied by heavy derivatives trading.
24-hour futures volume reached $94.42 billion, far exceeding spot volume of $5.67 billion. Ethereum futures open interest stood at $31.79 billion, showing a substantial amount of leveraged capital remains positioned in the market.
Ethereum’s market capitalization was approximately $287.65 billion, while circulating and total supply both stood near 120.68 million ETH.
The concentration of activity in futures means leverage remains an important part of the current move. A continued increase in open interest alongside rising prices could support momentum, although heavily crowded positioning would also increase liquidation risk during a pullback.
Binance Traders Remain Heavily Long ETH
Long-to-short positioning across major exchanges remains tilted toward buyers.
The Binance ETH/USDT account long/short ratio stood at 2.4002, meaning long accounts were more than twice as numerous as short accounts in the dataset.
Among Binance’s top traders, the account-based long/short ratio stood at 1.3294, while the ratio based on position size was higher at 1.7446.
OKX also showed a bullish bias, with its ETH account long/short ratio at 1.27.
The positioning supports the stronger sentiment visible on social media, although increasingly crowded longs could become a source of downside volatility if ETH fails to maintain the breakout.
Binance Leads Ethereum Futures Trading
Binance remained the largest venue for Ethereum futures activity, recording approximately $26.82 billion in volume.
OKX followed with $14.20 billion, while WhiteBIT recorded $9.25 billion. Gate and Bybit saw approximately $6.94 billion and $5.76 billion, respectively.
MEXC generated around $5 billion, followed by Coinbase at $4.67 billion, Bitget at $4.43 billion and Bitunix at $3.80 billion.
The spread of volume across several major exchanges suggests the latest ETH move was not isolated to a single trading venue.
Can Ethereum Price Reach $3,000?
Ethereum would need to gain roughly another 23% from its $2,444 daily high to reach $3,000.
Trader SantinoCapitals has also joined the bullish calls, arguing that ETH could eventually move through $3,000 before targeting substantially higher levels over a longer time horizon. His broader $10,000 projection is highly speculative and would require a much larger continuation of the current trend.
For the immediate market, the first test remains whether Ethereum can reclaim and hold the 2,450-2,500 region rather than simply touch it intraday.
ETH has already gained 26.4% in seven days, while elevated futures activity and short liquidations helped accelerate the latest leg higher. Sustained strength above $2,500 would keep $3,000 in view, while rejection near the current highs could trigger profit-taking after the sharp weekly advance.
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