In brief:
- Ethereum balances on exchanges have seen a drastic drop since the popularity of DeFi in August
- Ethereum investors continue to lock their ETH in smart contracts in DeFi protocols
- ETH volume on Decentralized exchanges is also growing drastically
- Ethereum price could once again attempt to revisit $400
In an earlier analysis, it was highlighted that 15% of Ethereum’s supply is locked in smart contracts. This fact has further been explored by the team at Glassnode through their recent weekly on-chain report on the state of the crypto-verse.
Ethereum Moved from Exchanges to DeFi is Continually Growing
According to the report, Ethereum investors have been continually withdrawing their ETH from centralized exchanges and into DeFi smart contracts beginning mid-August. Furthermore, Ethereum from private wallets is also being transferred to the said DeFi smart contracts.
Since 15 August, the balance of ETH on centralized exchanges has decreased by 11.6%, with 2.2 million ETH being withdrawn on net. Meanwhile, the amount of ETH in smart contracts has increased by 3.4 million ETH.
This means that not only is ETH being withdrawn from exchanges and moved into the DeFi ecosystem, but it is also moving from private wallets into smart contracts. Right now, the DeFi ecosystem has 8 million ETH locked up, in comparison with the 16.6 million ETH on centralized exchanges – and this figure is continually growing.
The team at Glassnode provided the following chart comparing the Ethereum balances on exchanges over time, with the percent of ETH locked in smart contracts. This chart gives a clear visual representation of the movement of Ethereum from crypto exchanges and into DeFi smart contracts.
Decentralized Exchanges, is Where the ETH Trading Action Is
Additionally, the report went on to point out that the Ethereum trade volume on centralized exchanges has stagnated whereas that on Decentralized exchanges has seen a continual increment.
At the same time, ETH volume on centralized exchanges is stagnating while DEX volumes continue to increase as the ecosystem matures and moves increasingly toward on-chain transactions.
ETH2.0 Deployment Could Push Ethereum to $400
In terms of price, the ongoing development of ETH2.0 and its eventual launch between now and November could provide significant bullish momentum for Ethereum to attempt a retest of $400 once again.
However, the journey up by Ethereum will have to overcome several resistance levels including $350, $365 and $390. Furthermore, ETH’s future in the crypto markets is highly tied to that of Bitcoin and the traditional stock markets.
Therefore, traders and investors are advised to be cautiously optimistic regarding the price of Ethereum as the network developers draw nearer to deploying ETH2.0.