$ETH - Ethereum stakers are profiting again as ETH rises 40%.

The leading altcoin, Ethereum, has seen its price skyrocket by 40% in the last week, marking one of its strongest weekly performances in recent months.

This rally has led to locked ETH tokens returning to unrealized gains for the first time since early March, a trend that could lead to reduced selling pressure among major Ethereum holders.

Locked Ethereum tokens are back in the green after the market rally.

According to data from CryptoQuant, locked ETH tokens, which are not part of the circulating supply and are often held by validators and long-term investors, had been in unrealized losses since March 3, 2025.

At that time, the realized price of locked ETH was $2,279, while market prices had fallen below this level.

However, last week's market rally pushed the price of ETH above $2,279 on May 9. This elevated the locked tokens above their realized cost basis, signaling a return to profitability.

When stakers move from losses to gains in this way, renewed confidence in the protocol is triggered, and greater participation in the network is encouraged. This can also translate into reduced selling pressure, as more holders are incentivized to keep their positions locked.

Adding to the bullish sentiment is the positive funding rate of ETH in the derivatives market. At the time of publication, this is 0.001%.

This suggests that ETH futures traders are increasingly willing to pay a premium to maintain long positions. The increase in demand for leveraged exposure confirms the bullish momentum and reflects strong market conviction.

Increased trading volume drives the ETH rally.