Ethereum’s price has broken past the $2,600 barrier, climbing to $2,631 in the last 24 hours, up 7.39%.

Source: CoinMarketCap

While this marks the strongest daily gain in several weeks, the rally still reflects an imbalance between strong whale accumulation and weak retail participation.

Despite broader optimism across the crypto market, Ethereum’s price action remains under pressure from flat user engagement at the retail level.

The latest surge follows a month-long sideways movement, where Ethereum traded between $2,185 and $2,750.

This price stagnation persisted despite whales staking nearly 60,000 ETH per week.

Total staked ETH has now reached 36 million coins.

The bullish momentum seen over the past 24 hours highlights renewed short-term interest, but data suggests a sustained rally may require stronger support from smaller investors.

Whales continue to pull large quantities of ETH from exchanges.

In one notable instance, more than 200,000 ETH were withdrawn, a sign of long-term confidence and a strategy to reduce market liquidity.

Lower exchange supply typically tightens available supply, which can push prices higher in active markets.

The rising staking total suggests that larger holders are committing to Ethereum’s long-term potential.

These moves are usually seen as bullish, especially when combined with a decline in tokens being sent to exchanges.

However, the impact of these large investor actions is limited without broader market participation.

The CryptoQuant data notes that although ETH supply is shrinking, demand has not increased proportionally.

The disconnect between reduced supply and stagnant demand has kept the coin’s growth trajectory limited until the latest price rise.

On-chain data reveals that daily active addresses remain below pre-bull market levels.

Ethereum has seen address activity remain locked between 300,000 and 400,000 over the past month, which is lower than typical figures during bullish breakouts.

This slow recovery among retail investors suggests that the recent price increase may still be driven primarily by institutional or whale-led activity.

A rise in address activity would signal fresh inflows from retail participants and could help Ethereum sustain its new price levels.

With Ethereum trading at $2,631, the next key level to watch is the $2,750 resistance.

A strong break above this mark could open the door to a move towards $3,067, based on historical price action.

On the downside, any resurgence in selling pressure or lack of follow-through from retail could push ETH back toward $2,424.

The coin’s recent 7.39% gain is a positive sign, but for it to develop into a sustained trend, a broader base of investors must re-engage with the network.

For now, Ethereum remains in a delicate position, supported by bullish whale behaviour, but still lacking the full backing of retail traders who once helped fuel its biggest rallies.

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