The amount of Ethereum\u2018s native token Ether (ETH<\/a>) kept with crypto exchanges has fallen to its lowest levels since September 2018, signaling traders\u2018 intention to hold the tokens in hopes of a price rally in 2022.<\/p>\n Notably, nearly 550,000 ETH \u2014 worth around $1.61 billion \u2014 have left centralized trading platforms year-to-date, according<\/a> to data provided by Glassnode. The massive outflow has reduced the exchanges\u2018 net-Ether balance to 21.72 million ETH, down from its record high of 31.68 million ETH in June 2020.<\/p>\n Interestingly, over 30% of all Ether\u2018s withdrawals from exchanges witnessed in 2022 appeared earlier this week, data from IntoTheBlock shows<\/a>. In detail, over 180,000 ETH left crypto trading platforms on March 15, bringing the weekly outflow\u2018s worth to a little over $500 million as of March 18.<\/p>\n Chainalysis data showed similar readings, revealing<\/a> that Ether tokens could have left exchanges this week at an average of about 120,000 units per day, a bullish signal. Excerpts:<\/p>\n \u201cAssets held on exchanges increase if more market participants want to sell than to buy and if buyers choose to store their assets on exchanges.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n IntoTheBlock provided a similar upside outlook while citing a fractal from October 2021 that saw the Ether\u2018s price rising by 15%<\/a> ten days after the Ethereum network detected massive ETH withdrawals from centralized crypto exchanges.<\/p>\n The increase in Ether withdrawals<\/a> from exchanges this week coincided with about 190,000 ETH moving into Lido\u2018s \u201cstETH liquid stakin\u201d pools, IntoTheBlock noted.<\/p>\n To recap, Lido is a noncustodial staking service that enables users to overcome challenges associated with staking on the Ethereum 2.0 Beacon Chain<\/a>, including the requirement of staking a minimum of 32 ETH or its multiples. Furthermore, Lido proposes to solve the capital efficiency problem by issuing stETH, the tokenized version of staked ETH.<\/p>\n The last 30 days showed Ether holders adding over 1 million ETH<\/a> into the Ethereum 2.0 contract. And, as the protocol prepares to switch completely to proof-of-stake (PoS) in summer \u2014 in the wake of its \u00a0\u201cMerge\u201d\u00a0earlier this week\u00a0on the Kiln testnet<\/a> \u2014 the probability of more Ether tokens going out of active supply has increased.<\/p>\n Lol. No one told anon that there’s going to be a liquidity squeeze in newly minted Ether in a few months. No newly minted Ether will enter circulation between the Merge (Juneish) and Shanghai (Decemberish). I’d text them but I don’t even have their number. You got it? Poor anon.<\/p>\n \u2014 superphiz.eth (@superphiz) March 16, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The bullishness surrounding Ethereum\u2018s switch to proof-of-stake has prompted Ether to enter a rebound mode this week.\u00a0<\/p>\n Related:\u00a0Vitalik Buterin talks crypto\u2019s perils in Time Magazine interview<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n In detail, ETH\u2018s price rallied by more than 17% week-to-date to nearly $3,000. Interestingly, the upside retracement originated at a technical level, rising trendline support with a recent history of limiting Ether\u2018s bearish outlooks, as shown in the chart below.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/s3.cointelegraph.com\/uploads\/2022-03\/296a021d-3596-4eeb-aa95-6dadaadbf6f7.png\")
Biggest weekly ETH outflow since October 2021<\/h2>\n
![](\"https:\/\/s3.cointelegraph.com\/uploads\/2022-03\/8db1149e-c530-48ef-9756-44ae3800b1ce.jpeg\")
Ethereum supply crunch underway<\/h2>\n
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ETH price rebound continues<\/h2>\n
![](\"https:\/\/s3.cointelegraph.com\/uploads\/2022-03\/5c24b555-7abc-49c6-a784-6c4d82d7881e.png\")