Wall Street rallied sharply on Aug. 22, 2025, as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell suggested that interest rates could be lowered as soon as September in his Jackson Hole address. In his remarks, Powell agreed that the economic outlook has shifted in ways that may warrant a change in monetary policy.
However, he cautioned that inflation pressures remain a concern. He pointed to tariff-related costs, noting that such pressures are starting to show an impact on the economy and continue to pose an upside risk to inflation.
However, rate cut hopes gave a boost to the market. Powell’s comments triggered a sharp risk-on trade sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.9% to close at a fresh record high, while the S&P 500 rose 1.5% and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.9%.
Cryptocurrencies surged on Friday. While Bitcoin rallied, Ethereum (ETH) led the digital asset gains. Most Ethereum-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) surged more than 14% each on Aug. 22, 2025. ETFs like Bitwise Ethereum Strategy ETF AETH and VanEck Ethereum ETF ETHV have been hovering around a 52-week high.
What Lies Ahead?
Ethereum traded at around $4,800last week on Bitstamp. The rally came right after Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled a possible shift toward interest rate cuts during his Jackson Hole speech. Within a short span of time, Ethereum added more than $150 billion to its market cap.
Institutional Money Powers the Rally
A big driver of this surge is strong institutional demand. Spot Ethereum ETFs have seen over $1 billion in inflows this month, led by iShares Ethereum Trust ETF ETHA, which bought more than 150,000 ETH, as quoted on tradingnews.com.
Companies are also holding Ethereum in their treasuries—Bitmine now owns 1 million ETH, following a strategy similar to Bitcoin’s early adoption. Even large Bitcoin holders are now rotating into Ethereum.
ETH Dominance Fuels Altcoin Season
Ethereum’s rising dominance is pulling money into the wider crypto market. Coinbase Institutional predicts a full “Altcoin Season” in September, with Ethereum leading the charge.DeFi leaders Uniswap and Aave should benefit from this euphoria, as quoted on tradingnews.com..
Is $7,500-$9,000 Possible in the Near Term?
Analysts are turning more bullish on ETH. Standard Chartered raised its year-end target to $7,500, due to institutional adoption. CoinCodex expects ETH to average around $6,025 in September with likely peaks above $7,200 before the end of the year.
Some forecasts even see ETH hitting $9,000 in November. With strong ETF demand, staking yields, and Layer 2 scaling, ETH’s fundamentals are stronger than in the 2021 bull run, as quoted on tradingnews.com.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.