The post Ethereum stuck between staking strength and derivatives risk – What’s next? appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

Risk assets are stuck in a tug-of-war between supply and demand. Consequently, breaking out of the ongoing market chop requires spotting a bid–ask imbalance. According to AMBCrypto, how top caps navigate this imbalance will likely determine their next directional move. For Ethereum [ETH], early signs are already showing, putting the usual “buy the fear vs. sell the strength” question back into focus. Notably, BitMine seems to have picked a side, staking another $340 million in ETH. Source: ValidatorQueue And it doesn’t stop there: BMNR now has $3.69 billion in total staked ETH. Meanwhile, about 2.16 million ETH are waiting to be staked over the following days, potentially bringing total staked Ethereum to nearly 37.8 million, an all-time high for this period, assuming the exit queue remains at zero. In short, Ethereum’s chop around $3k looks like a textbook breakout scenario, with bids dominating the action. In this context, could ETH be setting up a bear trap, catching the short side off-guard? Ethereum positioning heats up, but the bid still looks fragile Liquidity in derivatives is thickening as the market navigates uncertainty. CoinGlass data shows nearly $2.95 billion in short clusters at near-term risk if ETH moves another 11%. Meanwhile, Binance’s 4H perpetual contract is about 70% long, suggesting late-long positions are starting to catch up. Given Ethereum’s solid technicals and staking flows, this positioning makes sense. That said, calling it a full-blown supply squeeze might be a stretch, as around 160k ETH have moved into reserves just this past week. Source: CryptoQuant Moreover, another BlackRock deposit has hit the network. Against this backdrop, analysts note ETH’s Open Interest (OI) is rebounding to early-October levels. A rising OI generally implies more traders are opening positions, setting the stage for sharper moves in either direction. That’s where Ethereum’s bid–ask imbalance comes in.…

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Filed under: News - @ January 14, 2026 2:22 am