Ethereum Price Reclaims $2,500 Amid Tightening Liquidity and Rising Staking Activity
Ethereum's price reclaimed $2,500 in recent days, and this move coincides with a significant shift in where ETH is being held. Since May 2025, exchange balances have fallen from 14.8 million ETH to 25.7 million ETH, representing a decrease of approximately 28%. This reduction in liquidity is crucial because as ETH approaches the next price level at which new purchases can absorb some of the current supply, there may not be enough readily available supply.
The decreasing liquid tokens on exchanges are partly due to increased staking activity. The amount of ETH being staked has risen from about 29.8% in September 2025 to 35.56% by September 18, 2026. This trend of growth in staked percentages began in January and continued throughout the summer months.
The rising percentage of ETH being staked will strengthen the overall structure of the supply side of the ETH market, making it more sensitive to spot demand and total supply available for trade. Additionally, the recent inflows into U.S. Spot ETH ETFs have absorbed more supply, with a total asset size of approximately $16.7 billion.