ETH breaks through the $3100 mark, driven by on-chain prosperity and institutional deployment.

Ethereum (ETH) delivered an impressive performance at the start of 2026. As of January 4th, ETH is priced at $3,156.18, up 0.82% in 24 hours, with a market capitalization surpassing $380.935 billion, an increase of $31.12 billion compared to the previous day. Behind this price breakthrough are not only technical advancements but also a comprehensive positive shift in fundamentals.

Core Data Behind the Price Breakthrough

ETH’s recent price performance has been steady, showing an upward trend across multiple timeframes:

At the time of writing, ETH reached a intraday high of $3,160.55 and a low of $2,908.75. The 24-hour trading volume hit $12.205 billion, accounting for 12.24% of the market, with a current circulating supply of 120.7 million ETH.

On-Chain Activity Hits Record Highs

The most convincing support for this price surge comes from on-chain data. According to the latest reports, Ethereum set multiple historical records on December 31st:

• Transaction count reached 1.87 million (7-day moving average), surpassing the 1.61 million during the NFT and DeFi boom in May 2021
• Active addresses totaled 728,904, the highest since May 2021
• New addresses saw the largest single-day increase since early 2018

This resurgence in on-chain activity directly reflects rising network demand. Upgrades like ZK-EVM and PeerDAS have significantly reduced transaction costs and improved scalability, attracting more users and institutional participation.

Institutional Capital Continues to Enter

From institutional movements, Ethereum is gaining recognition from professional investors:

Staking Scale Steadily Growing

• Over 35.5 million ETH staked, about 29% of the total supply
• Validator queue increased to approximately 977,000 ETH
• Annualized staking yield approaching 2.54%

Whale Addresses and Listed Companies Increasing Holdings

According to reports, whale addresses and several listed companies (Quantum Solutions, Jin Yong Investment) are continuously increasing their ETH holdings. Notably, whale address 0x46DB bought a total of 51,374 ETH in the past month, indicating long-term confidence from professional capital.

ETF Capital Flows Show Divergence

This data best illustrates a shift in institutional sentiment. According to the latest reports, on January 2nd:

• Ethereum spot ETF saw a net inflow of 12,930 ETH (approximately $39.82 million)
• Bitcoin ETF experienced a net outflow of 2,061 BTC (about $184 million)

This divergence reflects that institutional funds are increasingly favoring Ethereum’s improving fundamentals and ecosystem prosperity. Despite over $2 billion outflows from ETH ETFs during November-December, recent inflows suggest renewed institutional enthusiasm.

Clear Technical Roadmap

Looking long-term, Ethereum’s technical upgrade roadmap provides room for price imagination. Vitalik Buterin has confirmed:

• ZK-EVM has entered alpha stage with production-level performance, and PeerDAS has officially launched on mainnet
• Starting from 2026, mechanisms like BAL and ePBS will push gas limits higher
• Between 2026-2028, gas re-pricing and state structure adjustments will be implemented
• By 2027-2030, ZK-EVM is expected to become the primary method for network validation, further boosting gas limits

This indicates Ethereum is shifting from incremental optimizations to systemic scaling, balancing decentralization, consensus mechanisms, and high throughput.

Summary

ETH breaking through $3,100 is not an isolated event but a comprehensive reflection of record-high on-chain activity, continuous institutional capital inflows, and ongoing technological upgrades. Notably, while Bitcoin funds are flowing out, ETH is attracting net institutional inflows, fundamentally indicating market recognition of Ethereum’s improving fundamentals.

Key future points to watch include: whether on-chain activity can sustain high levels, if ETF inflows continue, and whether technological upgrades proceed as scheduled. Based on current information, Ethereum is in a phase of multiple positive catalysts resonating together, but market volatility remains a risk to be vigilant about.