Flagship altcoin Ethereum (ETH) has soared to a new record high, reaching $4,885 on the Bitstamp exchange at 21:08 UTC. This marks the first time ETH has achieved such a peak in nearly four years, demonstrating a powerful surge of more than 15% in a single day. The significant rally was primarily fueled by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's explicit signal that a rate cut is anticipated next month, a revelation that immediately stirred the crypto market.

The rapid price ascent led to substantial market liquidations, with CoinGlass data indicating that a staggering $287 million worth of Ethereum shorts were wiped out within a 24-hour period. For comparison, Bitcoin shorts experienced liquidations of only $67 million over the same timeframe, underscoring the particular intensity of ETH's upward momentum. Notably, a single $10 million ETH liquidation order was executed on the OKX exchange.

Optimism surrounds Ethereum's future price trajectory. Polymarket bettors currently assign a 74% chance for ETH to reach the highly anticipated $5,000 level this August. Furthermore, there is a 29% probability of the altcoin extending its surge to the $5,400 mark during the final week of August. Looking ahead to 2025, the odds of ETH hitting $10,000 are estimated at 16% on Polymarket.

Peter L. Brandt, an old-school commodity trader with experience dating back to the mid-1970s and now also involved in Bitcoin, commented on Ethereum's new historic price peak. Despite his past criticisms of ETH as an asset, Brandt affirmed his stance as a trader, indicating he would still trade it irrespective of his personal views. Sharing an X post by Cheds Trading that featured a breakout pattern of ETH on a TradingView chart, Brandt succinctly described the movement with the word “Powerful.” This reflects the more than 15% price surge that propelled ETH from $4,238 to $4,885, surpassing its previous all-time high recorded in November 2021.

Concurrently with Ethereum's impressive rally, Bitcoin's dominance in the market slipped to just 56.5%, according to CoinGecko data. While ETH captured headlines, BTC also saw a positive movement, adding 4.6% and momentarily hitting $117,420 before slightly settling to $115,700. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong also acknowledged and celebrated Ethereum's new historic price surge, sharing a congratulatory tweet with the community.