Ether fell below 2000 USD, but simultaneously something is happening that usually doesn't fit the narrative of pure panic: investors are mass withdrawing ETH from exchanges. CryptoQuant data indicates that this is the largest outflow since October, which may suggest that the market is transitioning into accumulation mode.
In recent days, over 220,000 ETH has left exchanges net. Binance stood out particularly: on February 5, the platform recorded approximately 158,000 ETH in net outflows — the highest daily payout level from this exchange since August of last year.
CryptoQuant points out that similar movements often accompany accumulation phases: ETH is disappearing from exchanges because it is going to private wallets or ecosystems where it is not 'exposed' to immediate sale.
All of this is happening at a time when the ETH price is moving in the range of 1800–2000 USD.
Staking is also bursting at the seams.
There is still a strong interest in staking. According to data from validatorqueue.com, over 4 million ETH are in the deposit queue, and the waiting time to enter is about 70 days. The exit queue is about 3 thousand ETH, and withdrawal takes about an hour.
Van de Poppe: 'this reminds me of 2019'
Michaël van de Poppe pointed out the divergence between fundamentals and price. In his opinion, at an early stage of the cycle, the market can ignore the increasing network activity for a long time — just like in 2019, when the ETH price only moved after the peak of stablecoin activity.
Importantly, according to this narrative, the volume of stablecoin transactions on the Ethereum network has increased by about 200% over the last 18 months, while the ETH price has dropped by about 30% in the same period. For part of the market, this is a signal that ether may currently be viewed as 'cheap' relative to the utility of the ecosystem.