TLDR
- Ethereum Institutional, a new non-profit, launched to drive institutional adoption of ETH
- The non-profit is funded by BitMine, Sharplink, and Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin
- ETH staking deposits are hitting record highs, tightening liquid supply
- ETH is trading near $1,500–$1,610, below key moving average resistance levels
- Analyst Ali Charts flags $1,100 as a major historical support level with upside targets at $3,000 and $5,000
Ethereum is getting fresh institutional attention at the same time its price remains under pressure. The token is trading between $1,500 and $1,610, below several key moving averages that are acting as resistance.
A new non-profit called Ethereum Institutional launched this week. It was founded by the Ethereum Foundation’s Enterprise team and is funded by Bitcoin treasury companies BitMine and Sharplink, along with Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin.
The organization’s goal is to connect Ethereum builders — developers and infrastructure providers — with banks, asset managers, and other financial institutions. It covers five areas: education, institutional intelligence, marketing, industry discovery, and events.
This follows last week’s launch of Ethlabs, another non-profit focused on research and development for scaling Ethereum’s institutional capacity. Both were funded by the same group.
These launches come after several high-profile departures from the Ethereum Foundation. Former executive directors Hsiao-Wei Wang and Tomasz Stańczak, along with Tim Beiko and others, have left the organization. The Foundation also cut its workforce and budget by 20% and 40% respectively.
Staking Hits Record Highs
On-chain data tells a different story from the price chart. ETH staking deposits on the Beacon Chain are continuing to rise toward record levels. More staked ETH means less liquid supply available on exchanges.
The Ethereum staking rate just broke above 32.8%, a fresh all-time high! 📈
Zoom out to 90 days and the trend is impossible to miss.
Straight up and to the right
🔹 Staking rate: 31.5% (early April) → 32.8% today
🔹 Climbing relentlessly through every dip and shakeout
🔹 Now… pic.twitter.com/xw5uxl0nuV— Leon Waidmann (@LeonWaidmann) July 1, 2026
This matters because liquid supply is what sellers use most easily during volatile periods. If demand picks up while liquid supply is tight, any price recovery could be sharper than usual.
ETH earned $100.3 million in liquidations over a recent 24-hour period. Short liquidations made up $67.2 million of that total after ETH rose 3.5%.
Chart Levels to Watch
On the daily chart, Ethereum broke above a descending trendline near $1,601. However, it still sits below its 20-, 50-, and 100-day EMAs, which are clustered between $1,665 and $1,994.
The RSI sits around 42. Immediate resistance levels are at $1,665, $1,741, and $1,806. Support levels below current price sit at $1,524 and $1,405.
Crypto analyst Ali Charts highlighted the $1,100 zone as a historically strong support level. In a post this week, Ali Charts noted that every test of this level since 2021 has brought in strong buying. The analyst mapped out upside targets of $3,000 as a mid-range goal and $5,000 as the top of Ethereum’s long-term price channel if that level holds.
ETHEREUM: WHEN TO BUY?
Ethereum is approaching a historically support level that has defined its macro price action for years.
Since 2021, the $1,100 level has served as the ultimate bottom boundary of Ethereum's long-term price channel. Historically, every single test of this… https://t.co/LNkygeXO5n pic.twitter.com/1NQMcvoXYL
— Ali Charts (@alicharts) July 2, 2026
ETH most recently traded near $1,610 with the $1,741 level as the key short-term target to watch.
