Ethereum (ETH) Price Holds at $3,100 as Morgan Stanley Files for Staking ETF - A New Era of Institutional Adoption?

Morgan Stanley just threw its hat into the crypto ring. The banking giant's move to file for an Ethereum staking ETF isn't just paperwork—it's a seismic signal to the market.

The Institutional Stamp of Approval

Forget the crypto bros in hoodies. When a firm with trillions in assets under management files for a staking product, it's a different ballgame. This isn't speculation; it's infrastructure. They're not betting on memes—they're building a revenue-generating pipeline directly into the Ethereum network's core protocol. It turns idle ETH into a yield-bearing asset, and Wall Street loves yield more than anything, except maybe quarterly bonuses.

Why $3,100 Matters Now

The price holding firm at $3,100 amid this news is the real story. It's not a speculative spike; it's a consolidation. The market is pricing in legitimacy, not hype. It suggests a floor is forming, backed not by retail FOMO but by the cold, calculated interest of institutional capital looking for the on-ramp. Every basis point of staking yield is another reason for a pension fund manager to take a second look.

The Ripple Effect

This filing is a starter's pistol. Expect other major wirehouses and asset managers to follow suit rapidly—no one wants to be left holding the bag of traditional 1% yields when crypto offers multiples of that. It validates the entire staking economy and could funnel billions in dormant institutional capital onto the blockchain. The cynical jab? It's the same firms that once called crypto a 'fraud' now racing to monetize its plumbing. The ultimate validation in finance is always hypocrisy.

The bottom line: Morgan Stanley isn't just filing a form. They're laying track. And Ethereum, steady at $3,100, looks like the engine ready to haul the train.

TLDR

• Ethereum price hovers around $3,100-$3,200 as the crypto consolidates after six consecutive days of gains
• Ethereum ETFs saw $114.7 million in inflows on January 6, with BlackRock’s ETHA leading at $198.8 million, though flows turned negative on January 7 with $98.6 million in outflows
• Morgan Stanley filed for a spot Ethereum staking ETF with the SEC, marking its third crypto ETF application this week
• World Liberty Financial swapped 27.12 WBTC worth $2.5 million for 770.6 ETH, showing confidence in the altcoin
• Ethereum completed its second blob parameter-only fork, increasing network capacity for layer-2 scaling solutions

Ethereum price is trading between $3,100 and $3,200 as the second-largest cryptocurrency experiences mixed market signals. The altcoin recently ended a six-day winning streak with its first red candle.

Crypto analyst Ted Pillows noted that ethereum cleared most late long positions during the recent pullback. He highlighted $3,200 as the key level for the next major move.

As of recent trading, ETH sits at around $3,212, down 0.6% over the previous day. Despite the daily decline, Ethereum remains up 7.6% over the past week and 2.5% over the past month.

The Ethereum ETF market showed strength on January 6 with total inflows reaching $114.7 million. BlackRock’s ETHA dominated these flows with $198.8 million in new investment.

This marked the third consecutive day of inflows starting January 2. The initial day saw $174.5 million enter the market, followed by $168 million on January 5.

ETF Flows Turn Negative

However, the positive streak ended on January 7. Spot Ethereum ETFs recorded $98.6 million in net outflows on that day.

On January 6 (ET), Bitcoin spot ETFs saw a total net outflow of $243 million, with only BlackRock's IBIT ETF experiencing a net inflow. Ethereum spot ETFs saw a total net inflow of $115 million, marking the third consecutive day of inflows. Solana spot ETFs had a net inflow of… pic.twitter.com/a86lhBWhNB

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) January 7, 2026

Grayscale’s ETHE led the withdrawals with $52 million leaving the fund. The outflow may indicate profit-taking after ETH’s recent 10% weekly gain.

Despite recent outflows, spot Ether ETFs have only lost $2.8 billion from their $15 billion peak. This represents just 18% of total flows, according to Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart.

Morgan Stanley submitted an S-1 filing with the SEC for a new Ethereum Trust. The proposed fund WOULD track spot Ether prices and offer staking services.

This marks the investment bank’s third crypto ETF application this week. Morgan Stanley previously filed for bitcoin and Solana products.

The planned fund aims to generate passive income through third-party staking services. Morgan Stanley Investment Management would sponsor the ETF.

Whale Activity Shows Mixed Signals

World Liberty Financial made moves in the crypto market by reducing its Wrapped Bitcoin exposure. The DeFi project withdrew 162.69 WBTC worth $14.98 million from Aave.

The platform then swapped 27.12 WBTC valued at $2.5 million for 770.6 Ethereum. This partial rebalance suggests growing confidence in ETH’s future prospects.

Large investors bought $4.83 million worth of spot Ether across 32 wallets over the past week. Meanwhile, smart money traders sold $8.9 million across 63 wallets.

New wallets created in the last 14 days contributed $2.34 billion in spot Ether tokens. This indicates fresh demand from new market participants.

BlackRock purchased $149 million worth of ETH over three days. However, the asset manager simultaneously sent 7,255 ETH valued at $22.8 million to Coinbase.

Ethereum completed its second blob parameter-only fork on Tuesday. The upgrade raised the blob target from 10 to 14 and the maximum blob limit from 15 to 21.

$ETH has lost its key support level here.

The next crucial support zone is $3,020-$3,050 which will most likely get retested.

If Ethereum holds this level, a reversal will start. pic.twitter.com/WLWAkhmENK

— Ted (@TedPillows) January 8, 2026

This technical change increases data storage capacity in each block. The improvement benefits layer-2 rollups like Base, Arbitrum, and Optimism.

The upgrade also helps zero-knowledge solutions like zksync Era and StarkNet. On-chain data shows blob usage remains below capacity despite rising rollup activity.

Ethereum’s technical picture shows critical support at $3,032, which represents the 61.8% Fibonacci level. The crypto failed to break above $3,200 resistance, triggering the recent selloff.