- The Ethereum price projects sustainability above $3,300 after a major breakout from the consolidation range of 60-days.
- Approximately 77.85 million ETH are staked in Ethereum Proof-of-Stake deposit contract accounting for 46.59% of its circulating supply.
- ETH fear and greed index at 59% highlights a restoring bullish sentiment in the market.
ETH, the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain, experienced low volatility trading on Saturday, January 17th, to reach $3,302. The wavering price aligns with broader market uncertainty but the Ethereum price holds key support amid a strong conviction from crypto investors. Latest on-chain data shows that a significant amount of Ethereum supply is locked in stacking addresses, bolstering stability in the ETH value. Will the coin price rebound to $3,500 soon?
Ethereum Staking Contract Tops 77.8M ETH as Validator Deposits Surge 38% YoY
According to a recent report from blockchain analytics platform Santiment, the Ethereum Proof-of-Stake deposit contract currently holds 77.85 million ETH worth approximately over $256 billion. This indicates a 38.4% increase in the balance of the contract since last year.
This smart contract, sometimes still referred to by its pre-merge name in connection with the Beacon Chain, collects the minimum 32 ETH deposits needed to spin up validator nodes. Those nodes are responsible for transaction validation and block proposal responsibilities under Ethereum’s current security model. The funds sent here follow a strict protocol logic and can only be withdrawn slowly through validator exits.
The system includes caps on the number of validators permitted to leave each epoch, which creates orderly queues as opposed to allowing instant mass withdrawals. This mechanism prevents any possibility that the contract will behave like a conventional large holder address and flood exchanges with ETH overnight.
However, a whopping 46.59% of Ethereum’s circulating supply held in a signals wallet is subject to ongoing debate. The ongoing accumulation points to a growing number of investors choosing to stack their assets in locked addresses, accentuating their conviction for ETH’s long term growth as they also bolster network security.
At the same time, the scale opens questions of the future dynamics. If the Ethereum price witnessed a strong downturn, investors may prompt a coordinated exit attempt from validators. With rate-limit in place, the exit queue could flood and still release coins at a constrained pace, affecting perceived supply availability during volatile periods.
Santiment highlights this scenario as a perspective from investors to see glass half full or half empty.
Ethereum Price Eyes 11% Surge Post-Triangle Breakout
On January 12th, the Ethereum price gave a decisive breakout from the resistance trendline of the symmetrical triangle pattern in the daily chart. Since then, the coin price has been wavering above the breached trendline to seek support for the next leap.
The triangle pattern often provides a short consolidation phase in price before supporting a decisive breakout. The increasing volume during breakout supports the renewed recovery while the diminished trading activity during ongoing retest further highlights traders interest in upward trajectory.
The reclaimed daily exponential moving averages (20, 50, and 100) reinforces the bullish narrative for potential upswing ahead. With sustained buying, the Ethereum price could jump another 11% and challenge next key resistance at $3,600.
On the contrary, if buyers failed to hold this breakout support, the coin price could enter the triangle and drive a prolong correction ahead.
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