After a two-week surge from around $1,796 to as high as $1,933 on Thursday, before dropping to $1,876 on Friday, ETH is finally starting to show some movement. However, what’s even more interesting than the price action is the underlying network dynamics that paint a bullish outlook for the cryptocurrency.
Ethereum fees make a comeback
According to on-chain data received on Friday, both Ethereum transaction fees and tips are making a strong return to the upside.
For most of the past quarter, base-layer economics on Ethereum were remained quiet. For instance, median transaction fees sit more than 82 percent below their 90-day average, and tip fees were down roughly 96 percent.
However, readings on the short-term tell a lot more encouraging story. Over the past week, median tip fees have jumped nearly 86 percent, and median transaction fees rose about 16 percent.
Although this is a small absolute move on a very low base, the direction matters. It is the first meaningful uptick in fee pressure after a long stretch of decline, essentially an early hint that block space is starting to see competition again.
These fresh trends are reinforcing the “building, not speculating” narrative, as new smart contract deployments remain elevated – up close to 190 percent versus the 90-day baseline. Fresh contracts, plus rising tips, can point to genuine on-chain demand returning rather than idle capital.
Exchange data remains mixed
That said, the picture is a lot more nuanced on the exchange side. Binance funding rates actually cooled about 28 percent on a week-over-week basis, suggesting leverage isn’t the main driver here, which is a notable contrast to phases where price gains lean heavily on derivatives.
In addition, Net exchange flows swung sharply as well, from a -73,000 ETH outflow on Monday, to modest inflows as price peaked and pulled back.
Meanwhile staking keeps surging higher to a fresh 33.69 percent, steadily reducing the active circulating ETH supply and creating an indirect supply scarcity.
Most recently, the digital asset printed a golden cross, suggesting that a rally toward $2,000 may be on the cards.
