Ethereum's Whale Revival and Record Wallet Count Fuel Price Surge

Ethereum's price surge past $2,600 on Friday was driven by returning whale activity and a record number of non-empty wallets, according to data from Santiment Intelligence.

The data shows that despite the recent price action being relatively weak, Ethereum ownership continues to spread, with over 207 million non-empty wallets. This is a significant increase in investor interest and a sign that more people are holding onto their ETH.

Additionally, the number of Ethereum currently staked has grown to over 40 million, with entities such as Bitmine actively participating in staking. This combination highlights Ethereum's deep embedment in DeFi applications, including staking, stablecoins, lending, and DEXes.

The average transaction fee on the Ethereum network has also fallen significantly, down more than 85% from its peak in April at $0.72 to under $0.1. This makes using the network increasingly cheaper and could contribute to further price growth.