Ethereum price forecast hits $2,650 as Kalshi traders turn bullish

Ethereum traded at $2,451.51 as of 12:59 UTC on Aug 26, down 0.44 percent, as Kalshi traders forecast the token reaching $2,650 before August ends.

Spot Ethereum ETFs attracted $179.80 million in net inflows on Aug 25, led by BlackRock's ETHA with $146.44 million and Fidelity's FETH with $25.75 million, according to SoSoValue data. Combined ETF assets reached $14.88 billion, representing 5.06 percent of Ethereum's market capitalization, with historical net inflows at $12.45 billion. ETHA remains the largest fund with $8.23 billion in assets, while Grayscale's ETHE has seen $5.35 billion in cumulative outflows despite holding $1.87 billion. Trading volume across the funds totaled $980.49 million on Aug 25.

The Kalshi forecast follows a 20 percent weekly price jump that pushed Ether past $2,400, though momentum cooled as the broader cryptocurrency market fell 1.95 percent to $2.61 trillion in the past day. Bitcoin traded near $78,000, just shy of the $80,000 level, while XRP consolidated at $1.44 following a roughly 5 percent drop from the prior two sessions.

Breaking above $2,500 could unlock $2,600 and $2,800, while a second rejection at that level risks a pullback to $2,350 support, with $2,000 and $1,800 as downside targets. The four-hour RSI has dropped from overbought levels to 55.57, indicating neutral conditions, while the MACD remains below its signal line with a negative histogram.

Corporate treasuries diverge on ETH accumulation

The rally produced a sharp split between the companies behind crypto's two largest corporate treasuries. Strategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, sold 18.26 million MSTR shares for roughly $2.01 billion and paused new BTC purchases, building a $6.69 billion dollar-liquidity buffer that includes $5.10 billion in its USD Reserve and $1.59 billion in a new USD Cash account. The company holds 840,447 BTC acquired at an average price of $75,385.

BitMine took the opposite approach, buying another 32,447 ETH during the week to raise its holdings to 5.85 million tokens, about 4.8 percent of Ethereum's circulating supply. Chairman Tom Lee said annualized staking revenues are projected at $330 million, with roughly 87 percent of the treasury currently staked. The company reported $308 million in cash and marketable securities alongside its crypto holdings.

The divergence highlights differing capital-allocation strategies: Strategy preserved optionality to deploy cash at lower prices, while BitMine continued accumulating into strength, betting Ethereum's breakout has further to run. For ETH holders, the $2,500 level remains the immediate battleground, with Kalshi's $2,650 forecast and sustained ETF inflows providing the bullish backdrop. A decisive close above $2,500 would likely trigger fresh momentum buying, while failure risks a retest of $2,350 support before month-end.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.