Ethereum (ETH) Price Hits New 2023 Peak —Stakers Make Surprise $350M Move

Insights:

• Ethereum (ETH) price skyrocketed to a new 2023 peak of $2,170 on Saturday. 
• On-chain data shows that ETH 2.0 stakers had withdrawn 169,220 ETH worth approximately $350 million 24 hours earlier. 
• Technical analysis indicators show the key resistance and potential support levels that could impact the ongoing bullish ETH price rally. 

Ethereum (ETH) price has made a blistering start to the month, rising to a new 2023 peak of $2,170 on Saturday, December 2. A vital on-chain trading metric shows that Ethereum 2.0 starkers had made a surprise $330 million move barely 24 hours before the latest price breakout.

Investors Withdrew ETH Worth $330M From Ethereum Proof of Stake Contracts

Ethereum price reached a new 2023 peak of $2,170 on Dec 2, as the crypto market continued on a path to close the year strongly. On-chain data trends reveal that investors made a surprise $330 move 24 hours before the Saturday rally that could trigger a potential retracement in the days ahead. 

According to IntoTheBlock, investors withdrew a whopping 169,220 ETH (~$337 million) from ETH 2.0 beacon chain Proof of Stake contracts on Friday Dec 1.  

Notably, this is the second-highest staking withdrawals since Ethereum Shapella Upgrade enabled withdrawals in April 2023.

The ETH Staking flows tracks the total number of ETH coins staked on the Beacon Chain

In Sept 2022, Ethereum official completed The Merge, which saw the network migrate from Proof of Work (PoW) to Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus. Since, then investors have been required to deposit 32ETH in dedicated smart contracts called the “Beacon Chain”. 

The chart above shows that as price began to rise on Friday, ETH investors rapidly withdrew coins worth $337 million from the Beacon Chain. 

Typically, such a significant drop in coins staked often impact price action negatively. Firstly, for any Proof of Stake network like Ethereum, less staking deposits means less assets dedicated to securing the network. 

But, more importantly, when investors un-stake large chunks of coins, it is often a strong indication that they are looking to capitalize on the ongoing price rally to book some profits. 

Strategic investors will look out for influx of ETH coin into exchange reserves in the days ahead. If those recently unstaked ETH coins find their way into exchange hosted-wallets, Ethereum price could face a significant retracement.