Large Ethereum holders have increased their activity in Lido Staked Ethereum as the asset’s price has declined, according to analytics platforms Santiment and CryptoQuant. The platforms said the rise in large stETH transactions and Ethereum’s staking share may reflect risk-taking and long-term holding, although new daily staking inflows have fallen.

Santiment said stETH whale activity reached its highest sustained level since April over the past four days. In early November, analysts recorded more than 630 daily stETH transactions valued at $100,000 or more.

The activity occurred while Ethereum traded near $2,100. Santiment said large holders were not simply leaving staking but were reshuffling positions and using staked assets in financial operations.

According to Santiment, high borrowing activity indicates that holders are using stETH as collateral to obtain Ethereum and other assets. That allows them to retain their staking positions while freeing capital for other uses.

The analytics platform interpreted this behavior as a sign of rising risk-on activity rather than a broad investor exit from Ethereum.

Santiment identified $2,100 as an important level to monitor. It said that if Ethereum holds near that price and large transactions remain above 500 a day, a return to $2,200 could confirm strengthening demand for risk assets.

By contrast, a decline to roughly below $2,050 while leverage remains high would increase the risk of liquidations and additional market pressure, according to the analysts.

Ethereum’s staking share reaches 36.32%

CryptoQuant said Ethereum’s staking share has increased by about 4.32% since May and now accounts for 36.32% of the asset’s total supply.

The platform highlighted a divergence between Ethereum’s falling price and its rising staking share. CryptoQuant said the continued increase in staked coins indicates sustained investor interest in holding Ethereum for the long term.

A higher staking share also reduces the number of liquid coins in free circulation. CryptoQuant said this could reduce Ethereum’s available market supply and support its price if demand is strong enough, while cautioning that staked coins are not permanently locked because validators can initiate withdrawals.

Despite the increase in the overall staking share, Ethereum’s daily Staking Inflow metric fell by 40.11%. CryptoQuant said the decline in current inflows should be distinguished from the longer-term increase in the proportion of Ethereum already staked.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin previously said Ethereum should be viewed as a store of value.

Source: Incrypted