Binance’s Ethereum reserves are at their lowest level since 2020 – and that’s just one piece of a much bigger picture. Overall, Ethereum held on exchanges has fallen to its lowest level since 2016, a change driven by back-to-back withdrawals and increased staking that takes coins out of circulation.
A wave of withdrawals on the main platforms
On March 22, crypto analyst Amr Taha reported a $1.67 billion ETH withdrawal from OKX. Binance also saw two separate outflows exceeding $300 million earlier in the quarter.
These movements did not occur in isolation. Data from analyst Arab Chain shows that around 31.6 million ETH left major exchanges in February alone – the largest monthly outflow since November.
Binance accounted for around 14.45 million ETH of that total, almost half. OKX followed with around 3.80 million ETH, and Kraken recorded around 1 million ETH during the same period.
When coins leave exchanges at this rate, it matters. Sustained withdrawals reduce the pool of coins available for spot trading.
Assets transferred to private wallets or staking platforms tend to be less liquid in the short term, and thinner exchange balances can accentuate price fluctuations when market activity resumes.
Ethereum: Staking Reaches All-Time High
The story of withdrawal is accompanied by a story of staking, and together they paint a picture of a supply crunch. Around 38 million ETH is now locked in staking, which equates to around 33% of the total supply – the highest level ever recorded.
Staking infrastructure provider Everstake explained what this means for the market. The company said a steady decline in liquid supply, combined with continued demand, creates the conditions for a structurally firmer price floor.
This is not a short-term trading signal. This is a longer-term structural change – one in which an increasing share of ETH is committed to the network rather than ready to be sold.
Analysts are watching what happens next on the price chart. Technical analyst Trader Tardigrade has identified a potential cup and handle pattern forming on Ethereum’s daily chart.
$ETH / every day
Did #Ethereum just quietly get out of the handle? Discreet escape or falsification?
pic.twitter.com/FtZdl5hfdY
– Tardigrade Trader (@TATrader_Alan) March 25, 2026
A confirmed breakout would require ETH to cross the 50-day exponential moving average and key Fibonacci levels. Failure to do so could keep the token sideways in its current range.
Price holds near $2,181 as momentum builds
As of March 25, ETH was trading near $2,181 with derivatives activity increasing and momentum readings improving. Whether this will be enough to trigger a rise will depend on whether demand can catch up with the decline in supply.
Analysts say that Ethereum remains in an accumulation phase and has not yet entered an established uptrend.
Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView
