Key takeaways:

• Institutional sentiment is shifting toward ETH as elite funds reallocate capital from Bitcoin to Ether ETFs.

• BlackRock’s ETH ETF combines protected staking with a low 0.25% fee, providing significant win-win access to mainstream cryptocurrencies.

• Domination of a $20 billion real estate sector proves that massive money is prioritizing grid security over low gas rates.

Ether (ETH) has failed to regain the $2,500 level since January 31, prompting traders to wonder what could trigger sustained momentum. Investors are waiting for final signs of a favorable change in sentiment; Meanwhile, three different events could signal the end of the bear cycle, which hit a low of $1,744 on February 6.

At first glance, the $327 million net outflow from ETFs in February is mildly concerning. The apparent lack of institutional appetite while ETH is 60% below its all-time high can be viewed as a lack of confidence in the $1,800 support level. However, these outflows represent less than 3% of total assets under management for Ether ETFs.

Recent Ether ETF milestones could push ETH price higher

While investors are currently focusing almost exclusively on short-term flows, the scale of recent ETF developments in the form of the Ether ETF will ultimately reflect positively on the ETH price. In bear markets, positive news is often ignored or downplayed, but strategic moves by the world’s largest asset managers can quickly change investors’ risk perceptions.

The latest U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings show that in the last quarter of 2025, the Harvard Endowment added $87 million to BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust. Interestingly, the vote of confidence came as Harvard reduced its iShares Bitcoin Trust holdings to $266 million from $443 million in September 2025.

At the same time, BlackRock changed its Staked Ethereum ETF proposal on Tuesday to include retaining 18% of total staking rewards as service fees. While some market participants have criticized the high fee, the ETF sponsor must compensate intermediaries like Coinbase for staking services. Moreover, the relatively low expense ratio of 0.25% remains a net positive for the industry.

The latest evidence pointing to growing institutional adoption is the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA), a segment that has surpassed $20 billion in assets. Ethereum is the absolute leader, hosting offers from BlackRock, JPMorgan Chase, Fidelity and Franklin Templeton. This intersection of blockchain applications and conventional finance could drive sustainable demand for ETH.

Nearly half of the $13 billion in RWA deposits on Ethereum is tokenized gold, although investments in U.S. Treasuries, bonds and money market funds have grown to an impressive $5.2 billion. By comparison, the combined asset value of RWAs listed on BNB Chain and Solana is $4.2 billion, a powerful indicator that institutional money is less focused on fees and more on security.

Related: Tokenized RWAs increased by 13.5% despite a decline in the cryptocurrency market by 1,000. dollars

Even if risk-weighted asset issuers currently focus on closed systems using exclusive decentralized finance pools or their own Layer 2 networks, intermediaries will eventually find ways to connect to the broader Ethereum ecosystem. Crypto venture capital firm Dragonfly Capital’s latest $650 million funding round signals powerful appetite for tokenized equities and private credit offerings.

Instead of supporting Layer 1 blockchains and consumer-facing applications, investors are directing capital towards RWA infrastructure, institutional custody platforms and trading platforms, a clear sign of a maturing market. While it is hard to predict how long these changes will have an impact on the Ether price, these events clearly indicate that a return to $2,500 is possible in the near future.