Ethereum: Is a price bottom forming as 37.1M ETH gets staked?

ambcryptoPublished on 2026-02-28Last updated on 2026-02-28

Abstract

Despite a bearish trend with weekly lower closes since mid-January, on-chain data suggests Ethereum (ETH) might be forming a price bottom. Key indicators include an MVRV ratio of 0.78, signaling potential undervaluation, and a deeply oversold RSI. Analyst Tom Lee's thesis, supported by six on-chain metrics, points to a possible bottom in the $1.8k–$2k range. Encouraging signs include a record 37.1 million ETH staked (31% of supply) and significant exchange outflows, hinting at a supply squeeze. However, substantial selling pressure from ETF outflows and whale activity, combined with weak technicals and macro uncertainty, makes a confirmed bottom unlikely at this stage. The overall setup resembles a "sell-the-news" scenario.

Macro FUD is ramping up, and the market is starting to get tested.

On the charts, holding key levels is crucial to keep FOMO alive, especially as geopolitical tensions are already sparking pockets of panic across global markets. Ethereum [ETH] clearly isn’t immune to this pressure.

Since mid-January, ETH has closed every weekly candle lower than the last, showing a clear bearish bias as bulls failed to defend key zones. Still, the debate continues: Has Ethereum bottomed, or is more pain ahead?

Notably, on-chain data offers some insight.

Historically, Ethereum’s MVRV ratio dropping below 0.80 has often signaled a market bottom. Currently, it sits at 0.78, suggesting that ETH may be undervalued, a view further reinforced by its deeply oversold RSI.

Against this setup, Tom Lee’s Ethereum bottom thesis starts to make sense. He highlights six on-chain indicators that, historically, have lined up with price levels where bulls step in, often triggering significant rebounds.

Taken together, these signals suggest that a bottom could be forming for Ethereum, likely somewhere around the $1.8k-$2k range. The big question now is: Are bulls actually noticing these signals and stepping back in?

Ethereum staking cuts supply, but is the shock overstated?

For Ethereum to form a bottom, the order book needs to lean toward bids.

That said, there are some encouraging signs. Despite the risk-off mood, staked ETH just hit a record 37.1 million (about 31% of the total supply), showing that validators are keeping their coins locked up for the long haul.

On top of that, nearly 190,000 ETH moved off exchanges this week alone, pushing the total available Ethereum on exchanges down to a two-week low of 16 million. Taken together, it looks like a supply squeeze could be starting to take shape, which could give bulls some room to step in.

However, it may still be too early to call a confirmed bottom.

From a statistical perspective, Ethereum selling has been substantial. Ethereum ETFs have offloaded 563,600 ETH over the past five weeks. On top of that, a single whale recently sold $47.77 million worth of ETH. That’s a significant amount of selling, well in excess of the current demand.

Against this backdrop, calling a bottom based on a supply squeeze feels premature. With weak technicals, persistent selling, and ongoing macro FUD, it’s hard to see ETH holding above $1.8k right now.

In this context, the bottom thesis reads like a classic “sell-the-news” setup.


Final Summary

  • On-chain metrics and Tom Lee’s six indicators suggest Ethereum could be forming a bottom around $1.8k–$2k.
  • Staking and withdrawals from exchanges hint at a supply squeeze, yet heavy outflows make a confirmed bottom unlikely.

Trending Cryptos

Related Questions

QWhat on-chain metric suggests that Ethereum may be undervalued and potentially forming a bottom?

AEthereum's MVRV ratio, which is currently at 0.78. Historically, this ratio dropping below 0.80 has often signaled a market bottom.

QAccording to the article, what is the potential price range for an Ethereum bottom?

AThe potential price range for an Ethereum bottom is around $1.8k to $2k.

QWhat two key on-chain activities are creating a potential supply squeeze for Ethereum?

AA record 37.1 million ETH being staked and nearly 190,000 ETH being moved off exchanges, reducing the available supply.

QWhy does the article suggest it might be too early to call a confirmed bottom for Ethereum?

ABecause of substantial selling pressure from Ethereum ETFs offloading over 563,600 ETH and a whale selling $47.77 million worth of ETH, which exceeds current demand, combined with weak technicals and macro FUD.

QWhat is the article's overall conclusion about the 'Ethereum bottom thesis'?

AThe article concludes that while on-chain metrics suggest a bottom could be forming, the significant selling pressure makes a confirmed bottom unlikely, and the situation reads like a classic 'sell-the-news' setup.

Related Reads

No Sales Team, $20 Million in Revenue: How Did AI Employee Viktor Win Over 30,000 Companies?

The AI employee Viktor, developed by a team with DeepMind background, has achieved $20 million in annual revenue without a traditional sales team, serving over 30,000 companies. Its core innovation lies in positioning itself as a "Tier 3 AI Coworker" capable of "end-to-end execution and delivery of results," moving beyond the "draft and wait for human completion" model of typical AI assistants. Users can simply mention Viktor in Slack or Microsoft Teams using natural language commands, and it autonomously performs tasks like pulling sales data from a CRM, generating reports, or even cross-tool operations like creating board meeting PPTs by aggregating data from six different sources. Key to its growth is a pure Product-Led Growth (PLG) model, eliminating complex implementation cycles and per-seat licensing. Instead, it charges based on task credits or consumption, lowering the trial barrier with a $100 free credit offer and no credit card required. This enabled viral, bottom-up adoption within organizations. Viktor's interaction paradigm removes the barrier of prompt engineering, allowing non-technical employees to delegate complex workflows seamlessly. It also features proactive, automated task execution (e.g., overnight bookkeeping, scheduled reports) based on triggers, effectively embedding AI as an automated "process layer" within business operations. However, its expansion into Microsoft Teams—a platform with 320 million users—highlights challenges. Large enterprises require stringent IT compliance, security reviews (e.g., SOC 2), and governance, potentially hindering the frictionless, user-driven adoption that succeeded in Slack. Additionally, the "black box" nature of its autonomous decision-making raises concerns about operational risks, data integrity, and the need for robust audit logs and permission controls. Balancing efficiency gains with security and trust remains a critical hurdle for Viktor and similar AI agents aiming to become core enterprise infrastructure.

marsbit16m ago

No Sales Team, $20 Million in Revenue: How Did AI Employee Viktor Win Over 30,000 Companies?

marsbit16m ago

Manus Buyback Plan Emerges: Chinese Investors Plan to Repurchase Equity with $2 Billion, Path to Hong Kong IPO Becomes Clearer

According to a report by The Information, early Chinese investors of Manus, including Tencent, Sequoia Capital China, and ZhenFund, are planning to repurchase the company from Meta for $2 billion—the same price Meta paid in its acquisition last December. This move is a direct response to the Chinese government's prohibition of the foreign acquisition in April. As part of the repurchase plan, Manus is considering establishing a Sino-foreign joint venture within China. This structure is seen as a way to ensure regulatory compliance for its Chinese investors and to pave the way for a future IPO in Hong Kong. Notably, U.S. investor Benchmark will not participate in the buyback, which will concentrate ownership even more among Chinese capital. Since its acquisition by Meta, Manus's business has grown rapidly, with its annualized revenue run rate reportedly increasing four-to-fivefold to $400-$500 million in roughly six months. This strong growth underpins the investors' willingness to repurchase at the original price. Financially, the forced unwinding of the deal may benefit the early investors, allowing them to regain equity at a cost far below the company's current implied valuation, with the added prospect of an independent future listing. However, specific terms of the repurchase, including funding proportions and the joint venture's equity structure, are still under negotiation. This "repurchase-joint venture-Hong Kong IPO" approach could serve as a reference model for other Chinese AI startups navigating cross-border M&A regulations.

marsbit43m ago

Manus Buyback Plan Emerges: Chinese Investors Plan to Repurchase Equity with $2 Billion, Path to Hong Kong IPO Becomes Clearer

marsbit43m ago

STRC Loses Peg by 11%, Can Strategy's Perpetual Motion Machine Keep Running?

The article discusses the significant and concerning depegging of MicroStrategy's (MSTR) preferred stock, STRC. Designed to trade near its $100 target par value, STRC has recently fallen sharply, reaching a low of $83.26 and closing at $88.59, representing an over 11% discount. STRC is a core component of MicroStrategy's financial strategy. As a perpetual preferred stock, it allows the company to raise capital through an "at-the-market" (ATM) issuance program without diluting common shareholders (MSTR). This capital is primarily used to purchase Bitcoin, creating a "capital flywheel": issuing STRC → raising cash → buying BTC → increasing net assets → supporting STRC's value. The flywheel's operation depends on STRC maintaining its $100 price. To enforce this, MicroStrategy employs a dynamic dividend mechanism, recently raising the rate to 11.5% and increasing payout frequency. However, this has failed to halt the depegging, indicating market concerns extend beyond yield. Analysts cite two main reasons. First, technical factors like forced liquidations from leveraged arbitrage trades may have exacerbated the sell-off. Second, and more fundamentally, is waning confidence in MicroStrategy's financial resilience. A JPMorgan report highlighted the company's limited cash relative to its ~$1.7 billion annual dividend obligation, raising liquidity concerns. While MicroStrategy counters that its massive Bitcoin holdings provide decades of coverage, this argument relies on the potential need to sell BTC—a departure from its long-standing "never sell" narrative. The company's recent sale of a small amount of Bitcoin for "testing," despite being framed as minor, has intensified these fears. The persistent depegging threatens to cripple MicroStrategy's primary funding channel. If STRC remains discounted, the company's ability to fund further Bitcoin purchases weakens. Should cash reserves dwindle while financing is constrained, the market may increasingly price in the risk of MicroStrategy becoming a forced seller of Bitcoin to meet obligations. This shift from a major marginal buyer to a potential seller could pose significant downside risk to the broader Bitcoin market.

链捕手52m ago

STRC Loses Peg by 11%, Can Strategy's Perpetual Motion Machine Keep Running?

链捕手52m ago

Trading

Spot
Futures

Hot Articles

Discussions

Welcome to the HTX Community. Here, you can stay informed about the latest platform developments and gain access to professional market insights. Users' opinions on the price of ETH (ETH) are presented below.

活动图片