Ethereum briefly climbed to $2,444.20 on Aug. 21, extending its weekly gain to 26.4%. About $237.44 million in ETH short positions were liquidated over the previous 24 hours, forcing bearish traders to buy back positions and helping drive the advance. Futures trading volume reached $94.4 billion, while open interest (the value of outstanding futures contracts) stood at $31.79 billion. Market participants are focusing on $3,000 as the next potential upside target, The Crypto Times reported.