$1 Billion Ethereum Staking by Fundstrat-Backed BitMine: Assessing the Impact on ETH Price

Ethereum witnessed one of the most significant institutional staking events, with BitMine Immersion Technologies, backed by Fundstrat, staking $1 billion in ETH in just two days. While ETH’s price continues to trade sideways, the scale, timing, and structure of this staking activity carry meaningful implications for price.

Scale and Structure of the Staking Move

Lookonchain, an analytical platform, disclosed in an X post that BitMine staked 342,560 ETH, split into equal 28,320 ETH portions, indicating intentional treasury management rather than yield chasing. On a single day, December 27, a total of 74,880 ETH (approx. $219 million) was staked.

At the same time, SharpLink Gaming offloaded 35,627 ETH ($104 million), yet the net staking inflows remained positive. 

This shows that the institutional players are opting for long-term positions while giving up the short-term liquidity.

Immediate Price Impact: Why ETH Hasn’t Rallied Yet

Despite the high volume of staking, Ethereum’s price didn’t react aggressively, trading a bit over $3,000. ETH remains below the key moving averages and is trading in a tight consolidation range with low volume.

Such a weak reaction indicates that staking affects supply rather than demand. Removing ETH from the market reduces sell-side pressure, but price appreciation still requires incremental demand.

Supply Compression and Asymmetric Upside

The price implications become more pronounced over time. Each staked ETH becomes illiquid, shrinking the circulating supply during a phase when volatility is contracting. 

Historically, periods of supply restriction during consolidation usually preceded sharp directional movements and the return of demand.

More than 342,000 ETH have been withdrawn from liquid markets. Therefore, even a small demand from ETFs, institutional allocation, or a refreshed risk appetite could lead to an increase in price.

This results in a positive imbalance: the downside gets helped by decreased selling pressure, while the upside may rally if buyers return.

Institutional Price Expectations and Long-Term Targets

Tom Lee of Fundstrat has supported this view by projecting the value of ETH in a range of $7,000 to $9,000 by early 2026. 

He states that the volatility caused by liquidation in October 2025 should be viewed as a corrective move instead of a breakdown, and he sees long-term demand for Ethereum due to its participation in tokenization, settlement infrastructure, and institutional finance.

Supporting this, BitMine reportedly holds over 4 million ETH, about 3.4% of the total circulating supply, and is transitioning a growing share of it into active staking via its Made in America Validator Network (MAVAN), scheduled for full launch in early 2026.

Also Read: BTC Moves Sideways as Wyckoff Cycle Signals a Key Market Phase

Ethereum Validator Queue

The current Ethereum validator queue data provides strong technical backing for the bullish supply-side narrative sparked by BitMine’s $1 billion staking move.

Based on recent data from Beaconcha.in, the entry queue stands at 739,824 ETH, corresponding to a waiting time of almost 12 days and 20 hours. This suggests that new validators joining the network must wait nearly 2 weeks for their ETH to become actively staked. 

The churn limit is set to 256 validators per epoch, a strict measure to control the inflow of new ETH for staking.

On the exit side, the exit queue contains 349,867 ETH, subject to a 6-day and 2-hour wait, followed by an additional 8.5-day sweep delay, and only then will the withdrawn ETH be liquid.

Conclusion

The $1 billion staking event is unlikely to trigger an immediate price surge. However, it materially reduces liquid ETH supply at a structurally critical moment. 

As volatility compresses and macro conditions stabilize, this supply contraction increases the probability that the next demand impulse will lead to a stronger, faster price move.