Ethereum 2025 Mirrors 2017 Breakout—But With Wall Street Fueling the Surge

Ethereum (ETH) appears to be entering a breakout phase eerily reminiscent of its historic 2017 rally—but this time, the move is backed by deep institutional support and ETF inflows.

On July 27, crypto analyst Merlijn The Trader highlighted a near-perfect repeat of Ethereum’s 2017 structure, pointing to two key signals now flashing bullish again: a reclaim of the 50-week moving average and a breakout from a multi-month consolidation range. Both events preceded one of Ethereum’s most explosive runs eight years ago.

ETH Reclaims Critical Levels With Volume Confirmation

Ethereum recently reclaimed the 50-week MA—a long-term technical indicator often used to define bullish versus bearish market regimes. This follows weeks of consolidation just below the $3,600 resistance level, which ETH decisively broke above last week. The move coincides with rising volume and renewed ETF inflows, adding confidence to the upside narrative.

According to Merlijn, the similarities to 2017 are striking. However, the 2025 setup includes elements that weren’t present eight years ago: spot ETF flows, record on-chain activity, and clear rotation from institutional players.

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Institutional Rotation Drives 2025 Breakout

While 2017’s rally was fueled by retail excitement and ICO speculation, Ethereum’s current breakout is supported by a more mature market infrastructure. Spot ETH ETFs have already attracted over $9 billion in cumulative inflows, and major asset managers are expanding ETH-based products. On-chain metrics also show record volumes and staking growth, reinforcing Ethereum’s utility narrative.

Merlijn summed up the situation by noting: “Same setup. More capital. Much bigger stakes.” The implications are clear—if ETH follows the same structural path as 2017, the magnitude of gains could be significantly amplified by the scale of capital now involved.

As Ethereum continues to climb above key levels, many investors see this setup not only as a déjà vu moment—but potentially the start of a new, institutionally driven supercycle.

Kosta Gushterov

Kosta has been working in the crypto industry for over 4 years. He strives to present different perspectives on a given topic and enjoys the sector for its transparency and dynamism. In his work, he focuses on balanced coverage of events and developments in the crypto space, providing information to his readers from a neutral perspective.