Ethereum’s supply on centralized exchanges has reached its lowest point in more than a decade, driven by significant accumulation among large investors and institutional entities. Recent data indicates that less than 4.9% of Ethereum’s (ETH) entire circulating supply remains on exchanges, marking an unprecedented low in the currency’s history.
This contraction has been unfolding over the past five years, during which approximately 15.3 million ETH have been steadily withdrawn from centralized trading platforms. Tracking this trend further, in just the past month alone, more than one million ETH were moved off exchanges, signaling an increasing preference among holders to amass rather than trade Ethereum.
On-chain analysis underscores whale activity—holders who own at least 10,000 ETH have collectively added more than 450,000 ETH to their portfolios since late April. By May 10, this cohort held roughly 40.75 million ETH, the largest figure recorded since March, displaying heightened confidence from major stakeholders in Ethereum’s long-term prospects.
Institutional investors are also playing a crucial role in shaping Ethereum’s current dynamics. Recent figures show a notable reversal from prior outflows; U.S.-based spot Ethereum ETFs have attracted net inflows totaling $30 million in the past month. BlackRock specifically has seen its Ethereum-related assets under management climb to over $2.9 billion, highlighting continued strong institutional demand.
Ethereum’s attractiveness to institutional players is boosted by several inherent qualities, including widespread regulatory acceptance, availability via ETFs, and built-in yield capabilities through staking mechanisms. Market observers have pointed to Ethereum as uniquely positioned among crypto assets to attract sustained institutional interest, due to these combined advantages.
Ethereum also recently underwent significant upgrades. The Pectra upgrade was implemented successfully on May 7, optimizing data handling processes across the network and resonating positively across Ethereum’s Layer-2 scaling solutions. Layer-2 networks have demonstrated a notable 20% spike in transaction volume compared to the previous month, with Base alone registering approximately 259 million transactions over the last 30 days.
Looking forward, the market’s attention is focused on an impending decision expected by June 1 from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), covering the approval of staking services within Ethereum ETFs. Approval could enable institutions not only to gain exposure but also to earn staking yield, potentially drawing considerable additional capital into ETH-based products.
Analysts and market observers have opined that Ethereum is poised to outperform other crypto assets in the current bullish cycle. Notably, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes recently remarked that Ethereum, backed by a robust security model, a dynamic development community, and a large base of active users, is well positioned to exceed the performance of rival assets such as Solana over the coming market phase.
At the time of reporting, Ethereum was trading around $2,535, having risen approximately 57% over the last thirty days. This recent positive momentum comes despite Ethereum witnessing a disappointing first quarter, during which its price declined around 45%.
