Major Contrast in Ethereum Despite Institutional Pressure: 65% Surge

Although institutional selling pressure and negative investor sentiment dominate the Ethereum market, investors locking their assets through staking is creating a significant contraction on the supply side.

Ethereum (ETH), one of the most important assets in the cryptocurrency market, has recently been going through a critical period where investor sentiment has hit rock bottom. On-chain data indicates that selling pressure from U.S.-based institutional investors is increasing and a pessimistic mood prevails in the futures markets. However, despite this negative outlook, long-term investors are creating a striking contrast in the market by withdrawing their assets from exchanges and including them in the staking system.

According to data shared by CryptoQuant, the Coinbase Premium Index has dropped 230 percent below its three-month average, retreating into deep negative territory. This situation proves that large-scale investors trading on Coinbase are concentrated on the sell side. Similarly, funding rates on Binance have also dropped by 144 percent, reaching negative levels. This negativity in futures symbolizes the increasing expectation among leveraged traders that prices will fall even further.

Major Surge in Ethereum Staking Data

When examining cash flow on exchanges, an average daily outflow of $109 million worth of stablecoins is observed from Binance. While investors are withdrawing their capital from exchanges, it is noted that a significant portion of these funds is flowing into ETH2 staking contracts. The 65 percent increase in staking inflows reveals that, unlike short-term speculators, long-term investors are withdrawing Ethereum supply from the market and locking it up.

In the shared charts, it is clearly seen that staking inflows made sudden spikes even during the period when the price dropped to the $1,600 levels. This suggests that the extreme negative sentiment, referred to as a “wall of fear” in the market, could actually lay the groundwork for an upward explosion that may result in a short-squeeze—the forced closure of short positions. The exhaustion of selling pressure in the U.S. market will be monitored as the primary reversal signal for the price.