Mohammedia – Data from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode shows that exchange balances of ETH now stand at about 14.8 million ETH — the lowest since 2016. Over the past two years, the available supply on exchanges has been cut by roughly half as more ETH is being moved off exchanges into cold wallets, staking, or decentralized finance protocols.
CryptoQuant, another on-chain data provider, records the exchange supply ratio, which is the share of ETH sitting on exchanges compared to the total circulating supply, at 0.14. That is also the lowest point since July 2016.
Fewer coins on exchanges matter because it generally means a less easy supply for traders to sell into the market.
When balances rebound upward, that often signals that investors are preparing to sell. The current decline suggests a shift in the mindset of holders being more interested in locking ETH away for yield, staking, or long-term holding, rather than trading.
The rate of outflows has also accelerated. Glassnode reports that in one day, exchanges saw a net outflow of 2.18 million ETH, a high watermark that has been exceeded only a few times over the past decade.
CryptoQuant’s 30-day moving average of net exchange flows recently hit its highest level since late 2022.
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Institutions are playing a central role in this shift. Since April, about 68 entities have bought roughly 5.26 million ETH (worth about $21.7 billion) — nearly 4.3 % of total supply.
Many of these coins aren’t being parked on exchanges; they are being staked or held in treasury wallets. Meanwhile, U.S. spot ETH exchange-traded funds (ETFs) now hold around 6.75 million ETH, about 5.6 % of the total supply.
Combined, institutional players now control something close to 10 % of all ETH in existence.
However, this doesn’t guarantee prices will skyrocket overnight. Some long-term holders may decide to sell later. Market sentiment and macro factors, such as interest rates, regulatory shifts, and global liquidity, will play big roles.
But reduced exchange liquidity does change the dynamics as the float that traders can access shrinks, and the market becomes more sensitive to buying pressure.
The question now isn’t just if this trend continues but how the market reacts when supply can’t keep pace.
