Ether ( ETH ) rallied 11.6% from Dec. 10 to Dec. 12, recovering losses from the preceding two days. This price move was partly driven by robust inflows into Ether spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and heightened activity on the Ethereum network, which helped restore investor confidence.

Between Dec. 9 and Dec. 11, the spot Ether ETFs recorded net inflows of $557 million, a significant contributor to the rapid price recovery. However, this appears to be more of a result than the primary cause. Investors seized the opportunity to buy the dip at $3,550, anticipating Ethereum’s sustained dominance and the accelerating adoption of decentralized applications (DApps).

Is $4.5K the next stop for Ethereum? — Why ETH price is up today image 0

Ethereum network total value locked, USD. Source: DefiLlama

The Ethereum network’s total value locked (TVL) surged to $78 billion on Dec. 12, a 31% increase from $59.3 billion 30 days earlier, according to DefiLlama. This growth was primarily fueled by deposit increases in protocols such as AAVE, EigenLayer, Athena, Binance Staking, Spark, and Pendle. By comparison, BNB Chain deposits grew 10% during the same period, while Tron achieved an 18% increase.

In absolute terms, Ethereum remains the clear leader. Its nearest competitor, Solana, holds $9.4 billion in deposits. Additionally, Ethereum’s layer-2 scaling solutions account for another $11 billion in deposits, offering a more direct comparison to Solana due to their extremely low transaction fees. Meanwhile, transactions on Ethereum’s base layer average $7.50 in fees.

Is $4.5K the next stop for Ethereum? — Why ETH price is up today image 1

Blockchains ranked by 7-day onchain volumes, USD. Source: DefiLlama

Ethereum network 7-day volumes rose by 21% on Dec. 12, reaching $24.3 billion. Although Solana leads in absolute onchain activity with $30.7 billion in turnover during the same period, the combined volumes of Ethereum layer-2 blockchains surpass this figure. Together, Base, Arbitrum, Polygon, and Optimism recorded $25.6 billion in volumes over the 7-day period.

Overall, the Ethereum ecosystem holds a 47% market share in DApp volumes, making it inaccurate to assert that Solana is the absolute leader. While Solana’s footprint in memecoins is notable and provides a competitive edge, Ethereum maintains dominance in liquid staking, lending, yield farming, and synthetic assets.

Bitwise targets $7,000 ETH price, citing ETF adoption and layer-2 growth

Bitwise, a leading cryptocurrency ETF provider, issued a report to institutional clients on Dec. 10 that included a $7,000 target price for ETH, driven by growing ETF adoption . The report highlighted expectations for accelerated growth in Ethereum layer-2 blockchains, along with “massive growth in stablecoins and tokenized projects.”

Related: Ethereum has less than 10% chance of tapping $5K by year-end, says Derive

On Dec. 11, World Liberty Financial , the decentralized finance (DeFi) project linked to US President-elect Donald Trump, swapped USDC stablecoin for Ether, raising its total Ether holdings to over $55 million. Analysts believe this transaction influenced market sentiment, contributing to upward momentum in ETH prices.

Ether’s price has surged 65% over the past three months, and the recent dip below $3,550 on Dec. 10 demonstrated strong buying support. These factors suggest favorable odds for further price gains in the short term.

While it is impossible to predict whether the current bullish momentum will push ETH prices above $4,500, there is a constructive scenario supported by onchain activity and growing institutional demand, which solidify Ethereum’s position as the leader in DApp activity.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.