Ethereum ETH Price Bullish: Layer-2 TVL Hits $30 Billion, Whales Withdraw Over $64 Million From Exchanges

Ethereum has been showing increasing signs of strength and investor confidence that could fuel a significant price breakout in the coming weeks. Several key metrics point to growing adoption of Ethereum and its layer-2 scaling solutions for DeFi, as well as a shift towards long-term holding by major investors.

TLDR

• Ethereum layer-2 DeFi TVL has surged over 9% in the past week to $29.42 billion, showing increasing adoption of layer-2 scaling solutions
• Ethereum supply on exchanges has hit a record low of 11%, indicating growing tendency to lock up ETH for long-term holding
• Over 800,000 ETH, worth $2.4 billion, has exited exchanges so far this year, signaling increased investor confidence
• Ethereum whales have withdrawn $64.2 million worth of ETH from major exchanges, potentially positioning for long-term gains
• ETH price has shown bullish momentum, reclaiming $3,000 level, and technical analysis suggests potential for a significant breakout towards $3,500

Ethereum’s layer-2 ecosystem has seen its total value locked (TVL) surge over 9% in the past week to reach an all-time high around $29.42 billion. Arbitrum leads with the largest share at 45% of total layer-2 TVL.

The rapid growth underscores accelerating usage of layer-2 platforms like Arbitrum and Optimism for scaling Ethereum’s capacity for decentralized apps. The uptake has been driven in part by anticipation of Ethereum’s upcoming Shanghai upgrade which promises major gas fee reductions.

Meanwhile the supply of Ether tokens held on centralized exchanges has hit a record low of just 11% of total circulating supply.

This reduction reflects a growing tendency amongst Ethereum investors to move their holdings into cold storage or staking wallets for long-duration holding. Over 800,000 ETH worth $2.4 billion has already exited exchanges so far this year.

Large individual investors appear to be betting on Ethereum’s long-term appreciation as well. According to on-chain analytics platform Lookonchain, Ethereum whales have recently withdrawn over $64 million worth of ETH from Binance and Kraken.

Whales are accumulating $ETH!

0x8B94 withdrew 14,632 $ETH($45.5M) from #Binance and staked it in the past 6 days.https://t.co/bywnrZ2glt

2 fresh whale wallets withdrew 6K $ETH($18.7M) from #Kraken in the past 2 days.https://t.co/0kEvOmiv3hhttps://t.co/90fqjJXsSu pic.twitter.com/J0ewl8S3OX

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) February 26, 2024

The funds were quickly transferred into staking wallets or custodial wallets, rather than being traded on exchanges. This signals confidence that locking up ETH to participate in staking and validation of transactions on Ethereum’s proof-of-stake blockchain will pay off with gains in the token’s value.

The technical chart analysis indicates the potential for significant upside movement in Ethereum’s price. ETH has already rebounded over 5% in the past week to reclaim the key $3,000 level.

But financial analyst Raoul Pal points to a “mega wedge” pattern that suggests much more room to run. If ETH maintains support around $3,000, its price could launch towards tough resistance around $3,500.

With so much activity happening on Ethereum for both decentralized finance and NFTs, investors appear to be making a bet that ETH still has a lot further to climb.