ETH drops below $3300 but fundamentals remain unchanged: staking hits a new high, why are institutions still continuously increasing their holdings?

Ethereum (ETH) experienced a short-term correction on January 15, currently trading at $3,283.37, down 1.83% in the past 24 hours. Although the price has pulled back, on-chain data and institutional behavior tell a different story: staking volume hitting record highs, new wallet creation reaching new records, transaction fees dropping significantly, and institutional allocations continuing to increase. This divergence between price correction and strong fundamentals may be brewing new market opportunities.

Details of Short-term Price Fluctuations

According to the latest data, ETH’s performance over the past 24 hours is as follows:

From the data, this adjustment is not a collapse but a rational pullback near the high of $3,397. The key point is that the low of $3,052 was not effectively broken, indicating clear support in this area.

Staking Ecosystem Hits New Highs, Market Confidence Remains Strong

The most noteworthy aspect is Ethereum’s staking data. As of now, the staked ETH has surpassed 35.9 million, a historical high, accounting for approximately 29.61% of the total supply. This means nearly 30% of ETH is locked in staking, showing that holders are confident in Ethereum’s long-term prospects.

Interestingly, the validator exit queue contains only 160 ETH, while over 2.47 million ETH are waiting to be activated, with an activation delay of about 43 days. This indicates:

• Existing stakers face minimal selling pressure
• New participants are continuously entering, waiting in line for activation
• The market is optimistic about staking yields and Ethereum’s future

Institutions are also expanding their positions. Bitmine added 154,304 ETH (about $5.2 million), bringing its total staked ETH to 1,685,088, valued at $565 million. The sustained accumulation by large institutions reflects professional funds’ confidence in ETH’s long-term value.

What Are Large Funds Doing?

Interestingly, while prices are adjusting, large funds continue to accumulate. On-chain monitoring shows a whale investing approximately $39.98 million in just two hours to buy 12,000 ETH, further strengthening its ETH holdings worth over $270 million. Another strategic counterparty increased its ETH long position to 45,124 ETH, with a total long position worth $471 million.

The logic behind these large acquisitions is clear: they see buying opportunities around the $3,280 level.

Meanwhile, swing traders are taking profits. The whale “pension-usdt.eth” has closed two positions, realizing profits of $740,000 and $4.728 million, totaling over $28 million in gains. This phenomenon indicates a relatively balanced market between bulls and bears at this price level, with short-term traders cashing out profits while long-term bullish funds are accumulating on dips.

On-chain Ecosystem Activity Reaches New Highs

More importantly, on-chain fundamentals are improving:

• New Wallets Created Reaching Record Highs:** An average of 327,000 new wallets daily, with a single-day peak close to 394,000
• Active Addresses Exceed 791,000, up 71% compared to a year ago
• Transaction Fees Drop Significantly: Average transaction fee down to $0.15, a 98.6% decrease from $11 a year ago
• Network Activity at New Highs: Daily transaction count reaching 2.1 million, with stablecoin settlement volume in Q4 approaching $8 trillion

These data points imply that Ethereum is becoming cheaper, more user-friendly, and more active. These improvements are directly driven by the Fusaka upgrade optimizing data costs and the Pectra upgrade expanding Blob capacity. In other words, Ethereum’s technical upgrades are genuinely enhancing user experience.

Institutional Allocation Rebounds

The US spot Ethereum ETF recorded a net inflow of 54,952 ETH (about $1.81 million) in a single day. Although the seven-day net flow remains a net outflow of 47,684 ETH, the single-day inflow indicates that institutional investors are re-engaging in allocations.

Several factors drive this: continued decline in the US Consumer Price Index, progress on the Senate’s cryptocurrency market structure bill, and improved macro policy expectations. Major mining firm Canaan Technology holds a cumulative 1,750 BTC and 3,951 ETH in 2025, reflecting industry capital’s optimistic outlook on ETH.

Summary

The short-term 1.83% decline in ETH should be viewed in a broader context. While prices are correcting, fundamentals continue to strengthen: record-high staking volumes demonstrate long-term holder confidence; on-chain activity hitting new highs shows increasing actual usage; and ongoing institutional accumulation indicates professional funds are buying dips.

From a market structure perspective, large funds are increasing their holdings while swing traders are taking profits. This balance of forces in the $3,000–$3,400 range suggests the correction does not alter the long-term trend. It may, in fact, be a strategic pause for institutions. The key points to watch are whether the $3,052 support can hold and whether ETH can regain the $3,400 level.