Here’s what fueled Ethereum’s latest price hike above $2000

3 hours agoLast Updated: 26 February، 2026

Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, has struggled under the $2,000-mark for much of 2026. However, that didn’t seem to be the case at press time. In fact, it was trading at $2,047 after climbing by 7% in just 24 hours.

It’s still worth looking at what preceded ETH’s latest price action though.

After collapsing by more than 60% from its peak, Ethereum has spent much of February 2026 grinding sideways near $1,920. Its recent bounce from $1,750 prevented another breakdown.

Given that the altcoin’s price is now well above $2,000, capital flows should be looked at too. Did they have an impact? Did they fuel ETH’s hike above $2k?

Ethereum ETFs see fresh institutional inflows

Were institutions accumulating while sentiment stayed fragile?

Ethereum recorded $9.23 million in net ETF inflows the previous day. Meanwhile, Grayscale added $11.1 million in fresh ETH purchases.

This followed weeks of persistent February outflows. Therefore, it can be argued that the shift to inflows might have carried some weight and may have had some influence on the altcoin’s price action.

Source: X

Grayscale’s Ethereum [ETH] Mini Trust led the buying activity. In particular, it offset typical selling pressure from larger vehicles. Retail traders hesitated near the resistance level. However, institutional flows suggested calculated positioning near the support.

This was not hype. It was quiet capital stepping in while the price struggled on the charts.

$893M ETH Options expiry looms with $2,200 max pain

Here’s another question – Could derivatives force short-term distortion?

$893 million in ETH Options are set to expire on Friday. This is part of a broader $8.4 billion crypto expiry event.

At the time of writing, Ethereum’s Max Pain stood at $2,200, well above the spot near $1,910. The Put-to-Call ratio registered a reading of 0.78. What this means is that traders may be anticipating potential price gravitation towards higher levels. However, such a pull would reflect hedging mechanics, not necessarily organic demand.

Source: X

Meanwhile, $7.54 billion in Bitcoin Options faced expiry with $75,000 Max Pain. As a result, volatility risk would extend across majors.

Failure to respect expiry dynamics often lead to emotional trading errors.

Can market bulls retain control?

Is Ethereum’s latest rally anything more than relief?

In the past, Ethereum had bounced from the $1,750–$1,800 support cleanly, before repeated rejections below $2,000 capped momentum.

That isn’t the case anymore though. At the time of writing, with ETH’s price having crossed $2k, momentum indicators like the MACD were hinting at positive momentum with green histograms.

Reclaiming $2,000 has changed the tone sharply. However, it may be too soon to tell if the bulls will retain any control over the short or long-term.