Cointelegraph: Strong staking demand makes ETH drop to $1.5K unlikely

Ethereum (ETH) is facing dual pressures from a contracting leverage market and institutional outflows via ETFs, but robust staking demand is defending against further price drops, Cointelegraph reported. The media outlet noted that ETH failed to reclaim the $1,700 level last week, aligning with broader market weakness. A concurrent rally in U.S. stocks, sluggish on-chain activity, and a shrinking futures market have further diminished ETH's appeal to investors. Specifically, the funding rate in the perpetual futures market turned negative on June 5, and open interest has fallen by 30% over the past month. This waning investor sentiment is also reflected in outflows from spot ETFs. However, demand for ETH staking has been on the rise, with the validator queue recently reaching 50 days. Cointelegraph concluded that as long as spot ETF outflows are reasonably controlled and staking demand is maintained, the probability of ETH's price collapsing to $1,500 appears low.