Crypto
Ethereum Price Eyes $2,000 as CPI Triggers $103M Short Squeeze
28d ago 4,280
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Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, is back above $1,900 after cooler U.S. inflation data triggered one of its strongest rallies in weeks. More than $103 million in short positions were liquidated as futures traders rushed to buy.
With this, traders are now watching whether ETH can finally break above $2,000.
Ethereum price rallied nearly 5% immediately after the release of June's U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) report and is up almost 8.2% over the past week, trading around $1,869.57 (press time).
The move came after inflation data surprised markets. June CPI fell 0.4% month over month, while annual inflation slowed to 3.5% from 4.2%, increasing expectations that the Federal Reserve could have more room to ease monetary policy later this year.
As investors shifted back toward risk assets, Ethereum quickly broke above the key $1,850 resistance level and reclaimed prices not seen since early June.
The rally was largely driven by aggressive futures buying on Binance. Within the first hour after the CPI report, Binance recorded nearly $1.2 billion in ETH taker buy volume. In comparison, Deribit processed only about $15 million, while OKX handled $23.6 million over the same period.
That means Binance accounted for roughly 97% of ETH taker buy activity across the three major exchanges during the market's initial reaction.
The initial price jump soon turned into a larger rally as leveraged short positions were forced to close.
According to CoinGlass data, roughly $123 million worth of Ethereum futures positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours. More than $103 million of those liquidations came from traders betting ETH prices would fall.
As Ethereum moved above $1,850, a dense cluster of leveraged short positions was wiped out, forcing traders to buy back ETH to close their positions. Those forced purchases accelerated the rally toward $1,900.
Liquidation data now shows fresh pockets of leverage building between $1,900 and $1,950, making that range the next major area traders are watching.
The rally was not driven by derivatives alone. Spot Ethereum ETFs recorded another day of positive inflows on July 14, attracting approximately $58 million, with BlackRock's ETHA accounting for the entire amount.
Meanwhile, ETH futures open interest climbed roughly 9% to $26.7 billion, the highest level in more than a month.
Ethereum has also quietly strengthened against Bitcoin. Since June 28, ETH has gained roughly 13% against BTC, suggesting investors are beginning to rotate capital back into Ethereum after months of underperformance.
Despite the rally, Ethereum is approaching an important technical level. Crypto trader Ted Pillows noted that since August 2025, ETH has formed a local top every time its daily RSI moved above 65.
The RSI has crossed 65 again, making this a key test. If Ethereum holds above current levels while the RSI cools, it could signal a trend reversal.
Meanwhile, Crypto analyst John Gillen says bulls first need to reclaim $1,950, which aligns with Ethereum's 100-day exponential moving average (EMA). A successful breakout above $2,000 could then open the path toward $2,200.
On the downside, losing $1,800 would likely push Ethereum back into its recent key support level of $1,740.
Ethereum price climbed above $1,900 after cooler U.S. inflation helped trigger a $103M short squeeze. Crypto bulls are now targeting the key $2,000 level.
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