Ethereum (ETH) is trading nearly 65% below its all-time high, with social attention near yearly lows, but on-chain activity remains steady at about 450,000 active addresses daily. Analysts see this divergence as a potential precursor to a sharp price move, especially with the upcoming Glamsterdam upgrade expected to boost throughput and cut fees significantly.
Glamsterdam Upgrade Looms as On-Chain Data Holds Firm
Pseudonymous analyst Wise Crypto noted in a July 9 post that Ethereum's social media discussion is near yearly lows, yet the network continues to process roughly 450,000 active addresses. The Glamsterdam upgrade, the largest since The Merge, could increase Ethereum's gas limit by three times and reduce transaction fees by about 78%, potentially lifting throughput to 10,000 transactions per second.
Wise Crypto identified $1,754 as a key level to watch. A sustained move above that could open the path toward $2,440, while a failure to hold support might send ETH back to $880. At the time of writing, ETH was trading just below $1,754, down about 1% in 24 hours but up nearly 7% over the past week and about 3% over 30 days.
Leverage Flush and Rising Spot Volume Signal Shift
CryptoQuant contributor Amr Taha highlighted that Binance's 30-day ETH open interest change fell to -594,000 ETH earlier in the week, the deepest contraction since August 2024. Meanwhile, ETH spot volume on OKX surged to $2.09 billion, 49% higher than its best reading earlier this year on February 5.
Taha noted that a leverage flush alongside rising spot volumes likely indicates speculators are exiting while spot buyers continue accumulating ETH, rather than a broad retreat from the asset. This pattern suggests long-term holders may be replacing speculative traders.
Executives Bullish Despite Price Stagnation
Ethereum has been rejected at $1,800 three times this week, but Consensys co-founder Joseph Lubin said the "Summer of Ethereum Love is gaining steam," pointing to new steward groups like Ethlabs working with the Ethereum Foundation and the network's 11-year uptime as institutional draws. Analyst Michaël van de Poppe argued that "the worst period for ETH is over" after the token closed its third straight quarterly loss of more than 20%, a first in its history. He called the odds of a fourth consecutive drop statistically low and cited the pending CLARITY Act as a potential liquidity driver.