ETH was trading at $2,055, down 58% from its August 2025 all-time high of $4,953. The sharper point is how often this level has come back into focus: since April 2021, Ethereum has touched $2,000 twelve times, with the latest entry landing in April 2026. Trader Ash Crypto summed up the frustration on X with a timeline of those returns and a short appeal to Vitalik: “Dear Vitalik, Please do something.” The line spread because many traders see $2,000 as Ethereum’s most stubborn recurring price zone.
Foundation adds $46.64 million in staked ETH
Data cited from Arkham Intelligence shows the Ethereum Foundation staked an additional $46.64 million worth of ETH, bringing its total staked amount to $96.59 million. The move sits within a broader plan to stake 70,000 ETH and fund operations through staking yield instead of periodic treasury sales.
That shift matters because the Foundation has long financed itself by selling part of its ETH holdings. The practice was tolerated, but it drew repeated criticism from the community for adding sell pressure during weak market conditions. By leaning on staking rewards, the Foundation is removing at least part of that recurring supply overhang and keeping more ETH off the market.
Record activity, but retention falls to 14.2%
Price weakness is not being driven by charts alone. The report says Ethereum’s user retention rate fell to a record low of 14.2% in early 2026, even as active addresses climbed to an all-time high of 836,000. More users were interacting with the network, but fewer were returning, and that did not translate into stronger ETH accumulation.
Layer 2 growth is also changing the equation. As more activity moves to L2 networks, the amount of ETH burned per transaction has fallen, reducing one of the token’s key demand supports. On top of that, Ethereum ETFs have recently recorded more than $392 million in outflows, pointing to institutional money leaving rather than adding exposure.
$2,000 holds for now, while $2,100 to $2,150 caps rebounds
Trader Ted said ETH is still holding above $2,000, but resistance in the $2,100 to $2,150 range remains firm. His view was straightforward: if Ethereum loses the $2,000 level, the downtrend could extend.
The Foundation’s decision to reduce a long-running source of sell pressure improves Ethereum’s supply setup. It does not, by itself, force a repricing. For now, demand remains the missing piece, and the market is still watching whether institutional flows stabilize and whether ETH can finally clear the resistance band overhead.