Ethereum (ETH) Price Up 5% As Layer-2 DeFi TVL Hits $30 Billion

With Bitcoin leading the broader market rally, Ethereum (ETH) too joined the party with an additional 5% gain on Monday. As of press time, the Ethereum price is up 4.34% trading at $3,230 and a market cap of $387 billion.

Ethereum Layer 2 TVL Nears $30 Billion Milestone

Ethereum’s Layer 2 (L2) ecosystem is experiencing a surge in Total Value Locked (TVL), nearing the significant milestone of $30 billion as cryptocurrency prices climb.

Data from L2Beat reveals a notable uptick in Ethereum L2 TVL, which has surged by over 9% in the past week, reaching a new high of $29.42 billion. Of this total, Arbitrum constitutes the largest share at 45%, with a TVL of $13.26 billion. Other notable contributors include OP Mainnet with $7.57 billion, Manta Pacific with $1.89 billion, and StarkNet with $1.36 billion.

The substantial growth in Ethereum L2 TVL underscores the increasing adoption and utilization of Layer 2 solutions, highlighting their importance in scaling Ethereum’s network and mitigating congestion and high gas fees. The recent rally in L2 DeFi tokens is due to the optimism surrounding the upcoming Dencun upgrade with the EIP-4844 proposal to help significantly reduce the gas fee.

Ether Exchange Supply At Just 11%

Despite the spot Bitcoin ETFs continuing to see massive inflows, some market researchers continue to lean towards Ether due to the anticipated advancements in the upcoming Dencun upgrade.

Bernstein researchers Gautam Chhugani and Mahika Sapra highlighted the growth of Ethereum’s DeFi ecosystem and layer-2 networks as crucial factors strengthening ETH’s market resilience compared to Bitcoin.

Bernstein also underscores the significance of the amount of ether being locked up, highlighting that ETH held on exchanges has reached a record low of 11%. This trend indicates a growing tendency to lock up more of the cryptocurrency.

Meanwhile, Ether (ETH), ranked as the second-largest cryptocurrency globally, has exhibited a noteworthy 33% increase year-to-date, surpassing its larger counterpart, Bitcoin (BTC). This surge is attributed to various catalysts beyond the anticipated approval of a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF).

ETH Price Action

ETH maintained its position comfortably above the 50-day and 200-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs), indicating bullish signals for its price trajectory.

Should ETH surpass the Tuesday morning high of $3,276, it could pave the way for further upward momentum toward the $3,500 mark. Conversely, a drop in ETH below the critical support level of $3,200 could bring the $3,000 mark into focus.

The 14-period Daily Relative Strength Index (RSI) registering at 81.79 signals ETH’s entry into overbought territory. Consequently, heightened selling pressure might emerge around the Tuesday morning high of $3,276.