Layer-1 competition has never been this intense.
But unlike past rallies, which were mostly “hype-driven”, where any little L1 news could spark a short-term spike, this cycle feels different. Now, the battle is happening at the core: What attracts real capital.
Naturally, Ethereum [ETH] is right in the mix. On-chain, things look solid: Staking just hit an all-time high with around 36 million ETH locked (about 30% of total supply), and the validator queue is sitting at 2.4 million ETH.
Source: ValidatorQueue
In short, long-term confidence in the network seems to be growing.
Supporting that, roughly 140k ETH have moved off exchanges, bringing Ethereum’s exchange reserves down to 16.44 million. Put it all together, and it’s pointing to a potential supply shock quietly building underneath.
The impact is showing up in price action, with ETH up 7%. But zoom out, Ethereum isn’t the only chain hitting records, which raises a key question: Could a pullback in ETH.D undermine the impact of all that staking?
Ethereum staking hits ATH, but dominance could be tested
Ethereum’s recent staking milestone isn’t sending a clear bullish signal yet.
Looking at other L1s, many are breaking new records. For example, the value of tokenized RWA on Solana [SOL] has surpassed $1 billion for the first time, hitting an all-time high, and reinforcing long-term capital flows.
Meanwhile, Monero [XMR] reached $800 per coin for the first time, posting a 28% weekly rally and pushing its market cap to $15 billion. Notably, all this is happening while Ethereum dominance is showing a volatile setup.
Source: TradingView (ETH.D)
From a charting perspective, ETH.D is now nearing a key resistance.
As the chart above shows, the index has been chopping sideways for over eight weeks between 12%–13%. A breakout above 13% would be significant as Ethereum hasn’t tested that level since late Q3 2025.
However, rising L1 competition is a factor.
ETH’s staking record alone doesn’t give it a clear edge, especially as rivals are seeing similar activity. In fact, Solana is even leading 2026 so far with a 16% gain, making ETH.D the key metric to watch for Ethereum’s breakout.
Final Thoughts
- With 36 million ETH locked and long-term confidence growing, falling exchange reserves keep a potential supply shock in play.
- Solana’s strong start to 2026 and sideways ETH.D action highlight that Ethereum’s staking milestone alone doesn’t guarantee a breakout.
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