is experiencing a change in the way investors are holding Ether. Investors now prefer staking their Ethereum (ETH) tokens instead of leaving them on exchanges.
As a result of the decline, there is now only around 14.9 million ETH left on exchanges. Although this is a bullish signal, the ETH price has continued to drop, now trading under $2,000 for the first time since March.
Ethereum Staking Hits Record 32.4%
Ethereum has hit a new milestone under its Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus. Token Terminal reports that the Ethereum staking ratio has hit a new all-time high. According to the on-chain analytics firm, more than 32.4% of ETH’s current supply is currently locked in staking protocols.
This means that roughly 39 million ETH is now locked up and committed to securing the network. The historic high represents a shift in sentiment from investors. It shows that ETH holders are now committing long-term to the asset via staking. They also earn a steady stream of passive income for securing the network.
ETH Exchange Reserve Plunge To New Lows
As a result of the jump in ETH staking ratio, there has been a significant decline in the amount of Ethereum tokens on crypto exchanges. According to data from CryptoQuant, ETH reserves have dropped to around 14.9 million ETH tokens.
In 2021, ETH exchange reserves were above 33 million ETH tokens. A relatively smaller share of ETH is readily available to be traded or sold. Combined with the rise in staking, investors are moving ETH into longer-term storage.
The massive decrease in the exchange supply suggests a continuing supply shock. Liquidity crunches occur when investors move their coins away from exchange-based platforms and into decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms or directly into staking contracts.
In the traditional economic sense, an asset whose supply is severely limited and is less available in the market will usually be subject to an upward price pressure when demand is constant.
Ethereum Price Drops Under $2,000
Despite the backdrop of major bullish events, Ethereum has dropped under $2,000 in terms of value. CoinMarketCap data show ETH price is down by 4.29% on the 1D price chart and now trades at $1,986.
This is the first time the ETH price is trading under $2,000 since March 2026. The ETH price decline can be linked to the recent US attack on Iran. The rising global tension has been putting stress on risk assets like ETH, leading to a massive drop in value.
Technical Indicators Are Bearish
Looking at ETH technical indicators from Investing.com, the short-to-medium-term market outlook remains heavily bearish. Technical indicators and moving averages are completely flashing strong sell signals on the daily and weekly charts.
The ETH price is below its primary short-term and long-term Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs) and Simple Moving Averages (SMAs). The 1D RSI 14 is near oversold territory (29.43). The first major support level of $1,800 could be targeted by bears.
Bulls can invalidate this prevailing bearish momentum. However, they must first break the immediate $2,000 resistance. If they reclaim this key support, a return to the $2,200 and $2,500 price points becomes possible. Until those resistance levels are cleared, ETH remains bearish.