Anika Begay
Ethereum fell as low as $2,100 this week before bouncing back, adding an impressive 25% from its August 2024 lows. While there is confidence that prices will continue to expand, surpassing $2,800 and even the psychological round number at $3,000, other market-related events could slow the bulls.
Ethereum Network Unlocks Over 143,000 ETH
Second Token Unlocks dataHundreds of thousands of ETH are queued up and ready for withdrawal today. On-chain data reveals that validators are preparing to withdraw 143,000 ETH worth nearly $350 million. Another batch of 212,000 ETH will be available for trading in the coming days, which could add further pressure on prices.
As of August 9, Ethereum had a circulating supply of over 120 million, according to CoinMarketCap dataSince Dencun, the network has become inflationary, meaning that coins are no longer burned like before.
Validators must stake at least 32 ETH and ensure that their nodes maintain a high uptime of nearly 100%. At the same time, according to the network’s consensus rules, validators must not engage in illegal activities such as banding to approve invalid transactions.
Failure can lead to slashing, where a portion of their stake is taken as a penalty. However, since they have to commit to maintaining the decentralized network, they receive a portion of the annual staking yield. At the same time, they have the opportunity to approve a block of transactions, receiving rewards accordingly.
The ETH that is expected to hit the market will be the return from their staking activities. This unlock is different from the block rewards that are distributed approximately every 13 seconds.
While the market is expecting a spike in supply, analysts at Token Unlocks note that these withdrawals do not necessarily mean they will be liquidated. However, if they are sold, the recovery will likely be slow.
Will the bulls take over and push prices above $3,000?
There is cause for concern. Token Unlocks analysts have historically noted that prices tend to cool whenever the Ethereum network unlocks such a large amount of tokens in a short period. Over the past three months, unlocks between 150,000 and 220,000 ETH have coincided with price drops.
Looking at the daily chart, Ethereum is recovering. Although the downtrend remains after the unexpected drop to $2,100 earlier this week, the rebound has been decent.
The immediate liquidation line is approximately $2,600. If buyers persist, confirming earnings From August 8, ETH prices could surge, soaking ON the predicted floodand repeat the test $3,000.
Feature image from Canva, chart from TradingView
