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Ether climbs toward $2K as Bitmine buys ETH, Robinhood L2 boost
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- DeepHorus
Ether has surged 15% over the past five days, climbing from a June 26 low of $1,500 to near $1,800, and is now charting a path toward $2,000. The rally is driven by a combination of aggressive accumulation by BitMine Immersion Technologies, progress on Ethereum's Glamsterdam upgrade, and the launch of Robinhood Chain, which strengthens ties with traditional finance. This marks a significant turnaround for the second-largest cryptocurrency, which had been under pressure from weak network fees and regulatory uncertainty.
The Glamsterdam upgrade, currently in final testing and targeted for later in 2026, aims to boost network processing speeds by enabling parallel transaction processing. It will also expand data capacity and reduce database bloat, positioning Ethereum for institutional-grade financial use cases. This upgrade addresses long-standing scalability criticisms, particularly around layer-2 solutions that have reduced base layer fees and led to inflationary supply dynamics.
BitMine Immersion Technologies, a US-listed company, increased its ETH holdings by 325,000 coins over the past month, bringing its total to 5.74 million ETH. Despite holding $8 billion in unrealized losses on its position, BitMine continues its strategy to acquire 5% of Ethereum's circulating supply. This buying pressure has helped reinforce the $1,500 support level, providing a floor for the recent price recovery.
Robinhood Chain launched on July 2 as an EVM-compatible Ethereum layer-2 built on Arbitrum technology. The platform has already rolled out tokenized stock trading in over 120 countries and integrated major DeFi protocols including Uniswap, 1inch, and Morpho. This development signals growing adoption of Ethereum for traditional finance applications, which could drive sustained demand for the network.
Options market sentiment has improved, with Deribit's 25% delta skew dropping from 15% to 9% over the past week, moving away from extreme fear levels. However, a 9% premium for put options indicates caution remains. The improvement was partly fueled by optimism around the Digital Assets CLARITY Act, though the bill faces hurdles in Congress due to banking sector opposition on stablecoin regulation.
Despite low base layer network fees and subdued options conviction, Ether's upside appears supported by real-world use case growth. The combination of BitMine's continued buying, the Glamsterdam upgrade's institutional focus, and Robinhood's expansion into DeFi and tokenized assets provides a strong foundation for further gains. Analysis suggests that the path to $2,000 is viable in the near term, though risks from regulatory delays and macroeconomic headwinds persist.
Ethereum's base layer revenue has declined due to layer-2 scaling, but the Glamsterdam upgrade aims to reverse this by increasing throughput for high-value transactions. Meanwhile, institutional interest from companies like BitMine and platforms like Robinhood highlights a shift toward viewing Ethereum as a settlement layer for traditional finance. If these trends continue, Ether could reclaim $2,000 and potentially test higher resistance levels in the coming weeks.
