Ethereum price below $2,000: record staking meets ETF outflows

The Ethereum price fell below $2,000 on Thursday for the first time since August, even as more ether is locked in staking than ever before. Late on Thursday evening one ETH cost $2,011 according to CoinGecko, roughly €1,820. The daily low was $1,983.64 and the high $2,063.34. On the other side of the ledger sit 44.6 million staked ETH, or 36.51 percent of total supply.

What the data show: ether is losing value while holders keep their coins locked in the network instead of selling them. Our assessment follows further down. The scarce free float slows the decline, but it does not replace the buyers who are currently leaving through the US funds.

Ether below $2,000: first time since August, daily low at $1,983

Ether had held the round $2,000 mark since the summer. According to 24/7 Wall St., August 19 was the last trading day below that threshold, with a low of $1,905. On Tuesday, November 10, the level only just held, with a low of $2,003.

The trigger on Thursday was the resignation of Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang. Technology stocks came under pressure and cryptocurrencies followed. We traced how the resignation spilled over into ether on Thursday evening in our Ethereum price prediction on Huang's resignation. This article looks at a different number that usually gets lost in the price reports: staking.

Against Bitcoin the picture is mixed. Over 24 hours ether fell 2.3 percent according to CoinGecko, bitcoin 3.6 percent. Over seven days ether is down 10.2 percent, bitcoin 6.0 percent. Over 30 days the decline adds up to 19.7 percent for ether and 14.2 percent for bitcoin. Ether now trades a good 59 percent below its record high of $4,946 on August 24, 2025.

Ethereum staking ratio at 36.5 percent: never before has this much ether been locked

On Ethereum, staking means a holder deposits ether as collateral so that a validator may propose and confirm blocks. The reward is paid in ether. Validators that cheat or stay offline for long periods lose part of their deposit. During that time the deposited coins are locked and cannot be sold immediately.

According to the overview at validatorqueue, 44.6 million ETH were staked on Thursday evening, spread across 798,836 active validators. That equals 36.51 percent of supply. The data provider Token Terminal arrives at 36.3 percent, according to 24/7 Wall St., and calls it an all-time high. The two figures differ slightly because the providers define total supply differently. In both calculations the ratio is higher than ever.

The direction has been the same for weeks. On November 6 the ratio stood at 36.36 percent and 44.4 million ETH, and in September it was still 35.74 percent, as we recorded in our analysis of the staking queue from November 6. Around 200,000 ETH were therefore added in six days, while the price fell from $2,229 to $2,011.

Who is locking up these coins? According to 24/7 Wall St., it is funds, listed companies with ether on their balance sheets and long-term investors. As an example the report cites the US company Bit Digital, which held about 163,726 ETH as of September 30 and committed 73,683 ETH to liquid staking in the third quarter.

Ether ETF outflows in November: $695.9 million in eight trading days

The counterweight to staking comes from the United States. The spot ether exchange-traded funds lost a net $144.8 million on Wednesday, November 11, of which $129.8 million came from BlackRock's iShares Ethereum Trust alone. That is according to data from Farside Investors, analysed by the portal crypto.news on Thursday. Over the eight completed trading days of November, outflows add up to $695.9 million. Only November 4 brought an inflow, of $53 million.

The mechanism is simple. When an investor redeems fund shares, the issuer sells the corresponding ether on the market or stops buying new coins. Five consecutive days of outflows totalling $523.9 million therefore mean steady selling pressure that stakers do not offset. They do not sell, but they do not buy more either.

Ethereum exit queue since November 6: from 4,320 to 258,309 ETH

Anyone entering staking or wanting to leave it has to wait. The protocol only lets a limited amount of ether in and out per epoch, that is every 6.4 minutes. This creates two queues whose length says a lot about holder sentiment.

On November 6, 986,847 ETH were in the entry queue and only 4,320 ETH in the exit queue. On Thursday evening validatorqueue showed 931,247 ETH on their way in, with a waiting time of 16 days and 15 hours. The exit queue, by contrast, has grown to 258,309 ETH, with a waiting time of 5 days and 14 hours.

This shift is the real news behind the record. Inflows are still more than three times as large as outflows, so the ratio keeps rising. Yet within six days the amount waiting to exit has grown almost sixtyfold. Some holders want out, and in a week in which ether lost 10 percent. Whether these are sales or moves to another staking provider, the queue does not reveal.

Ethereum staking yield of 2.42 percent: the return keeps holders in the network

The annual staking yield currently stands at 2.42 percent, according to validatorqueue. That is little compared with US Treasuries, but it is an ongoing return in ether that increases a holder's stack month after month. Anyone planning for the long term loses nothing through staking except quick access.

That access matters on a day like this. Holders who staked their ether themselves as a validator and want to sell must first sit through an exit queue of a good five and a half days. Then comes the so-called sweep, in which the network transfers the balance to the registered withdrawal address. In our measurement from November 6 this took about 7.1 days. Together that is almost two weeks in which the price can keep moving.

Liquid staking works differently. The holder receives a token that represents the staked ether and can be traded on exchanges. Exiting is faster, but what is sold is the token, whose price can deviate from the ether price in turbulent phases.

ETH price levels: $2,031 and $2,151 above, $1,905 and $1,875 below

Since our last price article on Sunday evening, November 8, ether has kept falling. Back then long liquidations of $343 million pushed the price to $2,120. The $2,000 we named as the next support at the time broke on Thursday, if only intraday. By the evening ether was trading just above it again.

On the upside the first hurdle is $2,031, which crypto.news derives from a Murrey Math analysis, followed by $2,100. More important is the 200-day line at $2,151 cited by 24/7 Wall St. Ether now trades below all three common averages: the 20-day at $2,257, the 50-day at $2,443 and the 200-day at $2,151.

On the downside the daily low of $1,983 comes first. Just below it, at around $1,980, Coinbase Markets sees a zone, according to 24/7 Wall St., where options traders hold a so-called short gamma position of about $589 million. Short gamma means that if the price falls, these traders tend to sell to hedge, which can amplify a move. Below that lie the August low at $1,905 and the $1,875 level that crypto.news names as the next support.

Buying and storing ether under MiCA: staking via an exchange or on your own

Anyone buying ether in Europe is safest with a provider licensed under the EU's crypto regulation MiCA. The licence obliges the platform to keep client assets segregated, hold capital and give clear information on costs and risks. Which providers hold the licence is shown in our comparison of regulated crypto exchanges. How staking income is taxed depends on where you live, and a crypto tax tool keeps purchase dates and rewards in one place.

There are two routes to staking. Staking through an exchange is convenient: the platform runs the validator and keeps part of the reward in return. Three details in the small print matter here: how large the cut from the yield is, how long unstaking takes and whether the exchange is liable if the validator fails. The second route runs through your own wallet and a staking service, or your own validator, which requires 32 ETH. Then the keys are with you, and so is full responsibility. A hardware wallet protects the withdrawal address from online attacks.

In the current situation, leveraged trades on ether are not advisable. With a price swinging between $1,983 and $2,063 in a single day, a normal daily move is enough to force the liquidation of a highly leveraged position.

Our view on the Ethereum price: scarce supply, missing buyers

In the newsroom's view, the staking ratio shows one thing above all: holders who already own ether are not letting go of it. 36.51 percent of supply is locked, and at 931,247 ETH the entry queue is still more than three times as long as the exit queue. That suggests the downward pressure is not coming from the core of the Ethereum community.

Demand from outside points the other way. $695.9 million of outflows from the US funds in eight trading days is money leaving the market, and the exit queue has grown from 4,320 to 258,309 ETH within six days. As long as fund investors keep selling and ether stays below the 200-day line at $2,151, the scarce supply is likely to slow the decline but not carry a reversal. This is an assessment of the situation, not a buy recommendation; with crypto assets a total loss is possible.

Ethereum at $2,011: without ETF inflows, staking alone cannot carry the price

1. Choose where to buy: If you want to buy ether or add to a position, pick a platform with a MiCA licence and compare fees in our overview of regulated crypto exchanges.
2. Check access to your coins: Before you stake, check the unstaking period and the provider's cut. If you hold your own keys, secure the withdrawal address with a hardware wallet.

(As of November 12, 2026. This article is not investment advice. Prices and fee structures change; check the terms with the provider before you buy.)