Ether Hits 19-Month High Amid Restaking Boom

As better-than-expected Bitcoin ETF inflows buoy crypto markets, the second-largest digital asset may finally be waking up.

ETH has surged 16% in the past seven days and is trading above $2,800 for the first time since May 2022, just before the $40B implosion of Terra.

The ETH/BTC ratio is on the rise after hitting its lowest level in nearly three years in January. Ether has generally underperformed Bitcoin since the Merge transitioned the network to proof-of-stake in September 2022.

On Feb. 7, the amount of Ether staked to secure the network crossed 30M ETH for the first time, pushing the staking rate above 25%, an all-time high. More than 10M ETH ($28 billion) has been staked since Ethereum’s Shanghai upgrade went live in April 2023.

After remaining relatively flat in December, deposits accelerated in 2024 due to the ongoing EigenLayer restaking boom. DeFi investors have plowed over $6 billion into the highly anticipated protocol, leading it to amass more than 10% of all liquid staking tokens (LSTs) in circulation.

DeFi TVL Approaches $50 Billion

The total value locked (TVL) in DeFi protocols on Ethereum stands at $49 billion, a nine-month high. In ETH terms, TVL is up 20% in the past month alone, mainly driven by EigenLayer and linked protocols like Pendle and ether.fi.

Surging on-chain activity driven by ERC404 tokens has resulted in elevated transaction fees, which sit at a two-month high. ETH has slipped back into deflationary territory, with 28,600 ETH – $80 million – burned in the past seven days.