Why is Ethereum price up today? Is it a dead-cat bounce?

Ethereum ($ETH) price gained over 3% so far on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, to reach a local high of about $2,090.

The large-cap altcoin, with a market cap of about $245.9 billion, rallied in tandem with Bitcoin ($BTC) to trade around $2,041 at press time.

$ETH chart for 7-day. Source: Finbold

Why is Ethereum price up today?

The main reason why Ethereum price rallied above $2,000 on Wednesday was due to renewed traders’ optimism.

Notably, $BTC price led the wider altcoin market in a relief rally on Wednesday after President Donald Trump urged banks to compromise on their issues regarding the stablecoin yield to expedite the passage of the Clarity Act in the U.S. Senate.

The crypto traders’ optimism is clearly reflected in the Open Interest (OI) rebound. The rebound in Bitcoin’s OI also influenced altcoins’ OI as crypto traders anticipated bullish sentiment.

Chart showing crypto OI. Source: X

Meanwhile, Ethereum’s funding rate turned positive again, which signaled bullish sentiment. Historically, a positive funding rate is associated with bullish sentiment and vice versa.

$ETH funding rate. Source: CoinGlass

Is it a dead-cat bounce?

Following today’s $ETH price pump, it retested a crucial midterm resistance level around $2,090, which resulted in rejection in the past four weeks. As such, Ethereum price is hovering around a crucial inflection point, which could either lead to a market reversal or bearish continuation.

$ETH/USDT 4hr chart. Source: X

From a technical analysis perspective, if $ETH price rallies above $2,140, a rally towards $2,500 will be inevitable, according to a trading expert Lennaert Snyder. However, if Ethereum price is rejected again at its recent inflection point, its drop towards $1,820 will be imminent.
Ultimately, a sustained bullish outlook for Ethereum in the near future will be determined by a renewed inflow to the U.S. spot $ETH Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). On Tuesday, the U.S. spot $ETH ETFs posted a net cash outflow of about $10.75 million, based on market data from SoSoValue.