Ethereum ($ETH) slid to nearly $2,800 over the weekend as rising geopolitical tensions pressured risk assets. The pullback, however, was followed by a modest rebound, which lifted the crypto asset back above $3,000 by Wednesday.
Despite this volatility, the network keeps growing, with record wallet numbers and a shrinking exchange-held supply.
Exchange $ETH Supply Shrinks
Ethereum’s number of non-empty wallets has surpassed 175.5 million, which, according to the latest findings by Santiment, is the highest among all cryptocurrencies. In fact, 5.16 million wallets were recorded in 2026 alone. The data indicates steady user participation, even amid sideways market conditions.
The analytics firm added that continued interest in staking is contributing to a steady decline in $ETH held on centralized exchanges. Such trends can reduce selling pressure and support prices over time, even if short-term movements remain muted.
Against this backdrop, the network’s fundamentals suggest strong underlying support. Glassnode analyst Chris Beamish found that Ethereum is currently trading around a dense cost basis cluster. This means that many holders are near their breakeven levels. He explained that holding this zone would indicate absorption and base-building, while a breakdown could push $ETH into weaker support areas where holders may look to reduce exposure.
Largest Corporate $ETH Holder Staking Millions
On the corporate treasury side of things, BitMine Immersion Technologies, which happens to be the largest corporate holder of $ETH, expanded its Ethereum treasury by 40,302 $ETH on Monday, worth about $117 million. Its total holdings are now more than 4.24 million $ETH, and account for 3.52% of all $ETH in circulation.
The firm also revealed staking over 2 million $ETH, almost half of its Ethereum holdings, and turning a significant share of its treasury into yield-earning assets. BitMine’s fast staking pace has added pressure to the Ethereum network, pushing the waiting period to become a new validator to 54 days as the popularity of staking on the blockchain grows.
Corporate interest in Ethereum, in general, has been on an uptrend. Bitwise observed that companies purchased over 1 million $ETH, which is valued at approximately $3.5 billion. The number of publicly disclosed firms holding $ETH rose by 40%, and together, these corporate holdings now account for roughly 5% of all Ethereum in circulation.
