Ethereum price struggles below $3k as staking demand weakens, can bulls regain control?

Ethereum price failed to bounce back above $3,000 today as investor demand for staking the token continues to weaken. Can Ethereum bulls manage to regain momentum and push past this crucial level?

According to data from crypto.news, Ethereum (ETH) rose to an intraday high of $2,973 on Nov. 26 but failed to breach the key psychological resistance at $3,000, settling at $2,938 at press time. At this level, the second-largest crypto asset by market cap, valued at $354.5 billion, remains down nearly 30% over the past month and is trading 40.6% below its all-time high reached in August this year.

Ethereum price has repeatedly faced resistance at $3k, and once again failed to breach that area earlier today amidst an ongoing trend of weak staking inflows.

For context, staking inflows is a metric that indicates when investors withdraw their ETH holdings from exchanges to stake them. As a proof-of-stake cryptocurrency, staking helps bolster the Ethereum network’s security, and it is generally seen as supportive for the asset’s price since the staked ETH is locked and essentially taken out of circulation.

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Data from CryptoQuant shows that staking inflow has dropped from $160k near the end of October to just $2,941 today, as traders continue rotating into other cryptocurrencies that offer better yields for a lower investment threshold.

“Investors still find Ethereum, currently priced [around $2,900], too expensive to stake. This situation could push the price down toward $2,500,” CryptoQuant analysts noted in a recent market report.

At press time, the annual staking yield for Ethereum was around 1.9–2%, far lower than some of its competing proof-of-stake cryptocurrencies, such as Avalanche at 4.7%, Solana at 4.2%, and Bittensor at 14.7%.

Adding to the bearish outlook, Ethereum ETFs have also experienced significant net outflows since the beginning of November, totaling $1.56 billion so far. This suggests that institutional investors who had previously been supporting ETH through ETF exposure have also turned their backs on the asset, at least for now.

On the daily chart, Ethereum price has formed multiple bearish patterns that could keep traders at bay and potentially result in a steeper correction in the short term.

The 50-day simple moving average is approaching a crossover with the 200-day one, which would form a death cross, a pattern that typically precedes a prolonged downtrend and signals weakening market momentum.

As per a previous report from crypto.news, the altcoin’s price action also appears to have shaped a rounded top pattern. This is another bearish formation that often signals exhaustion of buying pressure and may pave the way for an extended pullback.

For now, traders are most likely keeping a close eye on the $2,370 to $2,470 zone, a range that has historically acted as a strong support level earlier this year and where bulls had previously staged a successful rebound. A decisive drop below this area could open the door for deeper losses.

However, on a more positive note, Ethereum could potentially see a recovery rally if it manages to break out of the falling wedge pattern that has also formed on the daily chart. When an asset breaks out from a falling wedge, it is usually taken as a sign of an impending bullish reversal, especially if accompanied by strong volume and a positive market sentiment.

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