Ethereum Awakens as ETH Price Awaits Its Moment

• Ethereum recorded 989,500 active addresses in 24 hours, its highest since March.
• So far in August, ether ETFs have seen inflows of USD 228 million.

The Ethereum network is beginning to show signs of a reactivation. While ether (ETH) remains close to $1,880, over 60% below its all-time high (ATH) of $4,900, various metrics indicate that the ecosystem is regaining activity.

The change is not coming from a single front. More wallets are returning to use Ethereum, institutional capital continues to flow in, and markets such as stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets (RWA) keep the network as one of their main infrastructures. It remains to be seen whether this movement can be sustained.

One of the clearest signals appears in the activity of the network itself. According to data from Santiment, Ethereum recorded 989,500 active addresses in 24 hours, its highest daily level since March.

The jump does not mean that nearly a million new users have arrived. Santiment explains that the movement seems to respond mainly to the "awakening of existing wallets," which are rotating capital and returning to use the various avenues available within the ecosystem.

Lower fees and the greater capacity of layer two (L2) networks facilitate this return. In other words, users and capital that were already within the ecosystem are moving again, a dynamic that could increase the demand for ETH if it can be maintained over time.

The greatest activity occurs while another indicator begins to improve: ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States.

After recording net inflows of $365.71 million during July, these products have accumulated another $228 million so far in August.

This data adds another piece to the movement that is beginning to be observed around Ethereum. Wallets are operating again while vehicles used by traditional investors receive capital for the second consecutive month.

Additionally, new use cases are emerging. Santiment specifically mentions the activity related to Robinhood Chain, the infrastructure that Robinhood is developing to bring tokenized financial assets to the on-chain environment.

Its relationship with Ethereum is direct: Robinhood Chain is built as a layer two network compatible with Ethereum. This way, it can leverage its infrastructure and tools while processing transactions off the main layer. Greater utilization of such networks expands the uses of the ecosystem created by Vitalik Buterin, even if not all that activity occurs directly on its main network.

The reactivation becomes more relevant when it is observed that the network maintains a central role in the tokenization of real-world assets, one of the market trends, as reported by CriptoNoticias.

Currently, Ethereum concentrates $17.41 billion in distributed RWA, corresponding to 2,190 assets. In the last 30 days, that value decreased by 5.49%, although the number of holders increased by 5.25%, reaching 223,599.

This is an important difference. The total value of these assets fell during the last month, while the number of wallets holding them increased. Therefore, participation continues to expand even in a period when no new net capital entered this segment.

Stablecoins show a similar behavior. Ethereum hosts $156.41 billion in these assets and registers 26.32 million holders. In 30 days, its market capitalization decreased by 1.34%, while the number of holders grew by 4.54%.

These markets are important for the thesis because they represent economic activity that already exists on Ethereum and its ecosystem. Stablecoins and tokenized assets need infrastructure to be issued, transferred, and used within financial applications.

Thus, the increase in active addresses takes on another meaning. It does not appear in isolation: it coincides with an expansion in the number of holders in two markets where Ethereum maintains a significant presence.

Greater utilization of Ethereum does not automatically imply a rise in ETH. For this reactivation to translate into the asset, the activity must be sustained and generate economic demand for ether, whether to pay fees, provide liquidity, use it as collateral, or simply maintain exposure to the cryptocurrency.

Santiment precisely introduces that condition. According to the firm, lower fees and greater capacity of L2s are facilitating wallets to operate again, something that "can support the demand for ETH if usage remains high."

Meanwhile, the price has been trading below $2,000 since late May, and volatility remains low.

For analyst Michaël van de Poppe, this situation could be approaching a definition. The asset is maintaining a consolidation with increasingly higher lows and a narrow trading range.

"ETH seems ready for a significant upward breakout," says the analyst, who places his first target zone around $2,300.

This reflects that the movement has already begun within the ecosystem. What remains is for this greater utilization to generate enough demand for ETH so that the awakening also reaches its price.