Ethereum Liquid Staking Hits New ATH With 35.5 Million ETH Locked – Will Price Follow?

Ethereum (ETH) is up more than 8% over the past 48 hours, climbing from around $2,400 on July 1 to nearly $2,600 at the time of writing. The latest on-chain analysis reveals that both accumulation addresses and liquid staking volume are approaching all-time highs (ATH), fueling optimism that ETH’s price may soon follow.

According to a recent CryptoQuant Quicktake post by contributor Carmelo_Aleman, Ethereum’s liquid staking activity has seen a notable increase since June 1. The total amount of ETH staked rose from 34.54 million to 35.52 million by June 30 – an increase of nearly one million ETH in just one month.

As of July 1, ETH set a new record in liquid staking, reaching 35.56 million ETH. A closer look suggests that most accumulation addresses are linked to institutional investors, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and other large holders.

Many of these investors choose to earn yield through liquid staking while waiting for substantial price appreciation. Among the biggest beneficiaries of this trend are decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols like Lido and Binance Liquid Staking, known for their scale and investor-friendly features.

In addition to the rise in liquid staking, ETH accumulation addresses are also nearing record highs. As shown in the following ETH Cohort Study chart, these addresses grew 35.97% – from 16.72 million on June 1 to 22.74 million by June 30.

For the uninitiated, Ethereum accumulation addresses are wallets that acquire and hold ETH without significant outgoing transactions, often excluding known exchange, miner, or smart contract addresses. These addresses typically signal long-term investor confidence, as they represent entities accumulating ETH without actively selling. 

Also worth highlighting is that the Realized Price of these accumulation addresses – their average acquisition cost – stood at $2,114 on July 1. As ETH trades at $2,593 at the time of writing, these accumulation addresses are sitting on a healthy profit of approximately 22.65%.

Technical analysis suggests that ETH could be poised for a breakout in the near term. In a recent post, crypto analyst Titan of Crypto pointed out that ETH appears ready to break out of a broadening wedge pattern on the weekly chart, with a potential upside target of $4,200.

Institutional interest in Ethereum also appears to be strengthening. Notably, ETH may have found its own “MicroStrategy moment,” with Tom Lee and Joe Lubin revealing plans to accumulate significant ETH positions.

That said, ETH must maintain support above the $2,200 level. A breakdown below this threshold could open the door for a drop to as low as $1,160. At press time, ETH is trading at $2,593, up 1.7% in the past 24 hours.