largest altcoin EthereumThe price of , surpassing the $3,250 level late on the first trading day of the week, rose to the highest level since mid-December. While the first days of the year are still behind us, the price of ETH gained 16 percent in value, ahead of Bitcoin, which increased by 6.7 percent in the same period. Market participants point to the weakening of selling pressure and the increase in demand due to staking as the main dynamics of the recovery. According to analyst Merlijn, the current picture points to the accumulation process rather than profit sales. does.
Strong Recovery in Ethereum
Ethereum’s climb above $3,250 showed that the market is seeking balance again after the weak course at the end of 2025. While the price movement accelerated during the hours when the US markets were open, the recovery in investors’ risk appetite attracted attention. Analysts ETHHe states that ‘s performance since the beginning of the year is based on medium-term positioning rather than short-term speculative transactions.
The background of the rise in price is the strengthening interest in staking activities. Internal blockchain data reveals that validator outflows remain limited and new login requests are accelerating. Beacon Chain While the total amount of stakes on it is at 35.6 million ETH, most of the new supply released to the market is locked before it is put into circulation. This structure creates a limiting effect on the supply side in price formation.
Merlijn’s assessment indicates that market sentiment is still in an upward phase. According to the analyst, ETH is considered cheap compared to historical averages and investor behavior is shaped towards accumulation. This approach strengthens the expectation that the upward trend will be sustainable despite short-term fluctuations.
Staking Impact of BitMine and ETFs
One of the most important factors supporting the recovery is one of the world’s largest Ethereum treasuries. BitMine It was an aggressive staking move announced by. The company announced that it had staked $2.1 billion worth of ETH in just two weeks. As of January 4, the total staked amount increased to 659,219 ETH, while the increase in the last week was recorded as 250,592 ETH.
BitMine’s share corresponds to approximately 1.85 percent of the total stakes on Beacon Chain. While intense inflows pushed the validator waiting queue to the highest level since mid-November 2025 with 1.3 million ETH, the exit queue dropped to July levels and almost zero. The company plans to put it into operation in 2026 Made in America Validator Network It works with three different staking providers. Chairman of the Board Tom Leeestimates that annual staking revenue could exceed $374 million in a full-scale structure.
On the corporate side, interest is not limited to treasury companies. Spot Ethereum ETFs in the USA have also begun to reflect staking income to investors. Grayscale stood out as the first spot Ethereum ETF to distribute staking rewards. ETF expert Nate Geraciemphasized that the recently launched products now reaching passive income distribution is an important threshold for the industry. Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart stated that outflows from ETFs reached 18 percent of the total flow, but price performance remained balanced.
