Ethereum [ETH] was in the news for attracting a growing amount of institutional interest. Bitmine Immersion added 86,400 ETH to its staking holdings, worth $266.3 million.
The Ethereum-focused company now has 1.08 million ETH worth $3.33 billion in total staked holdings.
Source: Bull Theory on X
The Ethereum staking queue was longer than the unstaking queue, revealed X user Bull Theory. Around 1.32 million ETH is lined up to enter staking, with an average wait time of 23 days.
Such a large spike in staking activity reflected long-term investor confidence in the leading altcoin.
Ethereum’s price action and the net taker volume metric showed there was potential for a price breakout beyond the $3,200 local supply zone.
Assessing the bullish potential of Ethereum
Source: CryptoQuant
Crypto analyst Maartunn’s Net Taker Volume metric uses perpetual derivatives data to identify the aggressive actors in the market.
The aggressive participants use market orders, or taker orders, and are the ones who drive prices.
The derivatives market saw a shift from high taker sell volume to a buyer-dominated taker volume. The magnitude of the buyer volume does not match the peaks in taker sell volume in September 2025, but it was a good start.
The spot taker CVD has also been taker buy-dominant since the start of the month. Together, the metrics showed sellers might be exhausted.
Source: ETH/USD on TradingView
The weekly chart revealed that the $2,748 level was a key retracement support level. It was defended in recent weeks, and ETH bulls were challenging the $3,169 level.
The $3,150-$3,250 area has been a supply zone since mid-November.
The weekly trading volume has decreased during the past two months. A breakout past $3,200 would likely see increased trading volume. The OBV was in a retracement phase alongside the ETH prices.
The metrics and price action supported the bullish breakout potential for Ethereum. It remains to be seen if macro conditions and market sentiment will allow another bullish impulse move or not.
Final Thoughts
- The Ethereum staking queue was miles longer than the unstaking queue, reflecting long-term confidence in the market.
- The ETH spot and derivatives markets were taker-buy dominant since the beginning of January.
