Recent Ethereum ($ETH) Although upward price momentum has been lost, five key on-chain indicators suggest the network may be in the early stages of recovery.
Ethereum rose from $1,796 to a recent high of $1,933 before falling back to around $1,876 on July 23rd. Although the price has stalled, CryptoQuant’s on-chain data shows that Ethereum’s base layer activity is showing early signs of improvement.
Ethereum fee activity begins to recover
For the majority of the past three months, Ethereum’s fee environment has remained subdued. Median transaction fees are more than 82% below the 90-day average, and median priority (tipping) fees are approximately 96% below normal.
However, short-term data paint a different picture. Over the past week, median tip fees have increased by nearly 86%, and median transaction fees have increased by approximately 16%.
Although these gains come from historically low levels, they mark the first significant increase in fee pressure after a long period of weakness. The rise suggests competition for block space may be returning after months of subdued activity.
Smart contract adoption continues to be strong
On-chain development activity also remains strong. New smart contract deployments are running at a rate of nearly 190% above the 90-day average, suggesting that developers continue to build on the network. Combined with rising trading fees, this trend may indicate intrinsic demand rather than speculative trading activity.
Ethereum leverage cools as trade flows change
Derivatives data suggests a more cautious outlook. Binance’s funding rate fell by about 28% from the previous week. This decline suggests that leveraged trading is not the main driver of Ethereum’s recent price movement.
At the same time, exchange flows varied from net outflows of about 73,000. $ETH Ethereum reached its recent peak and then pulled back, resulting in only modest inflows on July 20th.
Staking reaches new highs
Meanwhile, Ethereum staking continued to expand, reaching a new high of 33.69% of total supply. As it increases, the amount decreases further $ETH It can be used for trading in liquid markets.
658,600 $ETH Leaf replacement, tight liquid supply
Besides staking, the liquid supply of Ethereum on exchanges also continues to shrink. Approximately 658,600 $ETHapproximately $1.24 billion worth left Gemini and Bitfinex, reducing the amount. $ETH You will be able to trade immediately.
Gemini reserve power decreased to 384,400 $ETHthe lowest level since March 2024, after losing about 188,600 people. $ETH Since April. Bitfinex recorded a significant decline of approximately $470,000 $ETH Since May, Binance holdings have remained stable at around 3.8 million $ETH.
While a decline in exchange balances may reduce selling pressure, it does not guarantee future price movements. Coupled with rising fees and smart contract activity, this trend indicates that conditions in the Ethereum market are improving.
Overall, Ethereum network data shows steady improvement despite the recent price drop. Rising fee activity, strong smart contract growth, record staking levels, fewer coins on exchanges, and lower leverage suggest that market strength is driven more by pure network usage than speculation.
