#ETHTrendWatch The price of Ethereum depends on updates to the protocol, changes in stake, and the actual application of the network.

Glamsterdam Update (2026) – Focused on MEV scalability improvements
Dynamic staking – changes in issuance may complicate the life of individual validators.
Regulatory Factors – ETF Decisions Regarding Ethereum
The accumulation by big players – strategic purchases show institutional trust.
Tokenization of real assets (RWA) – Over $6.2 billion of sovereign bond assets enhance the practicality of the network on the blockchain.

Detailed Overview

1. Protocol updates and MEV reform ( mixed effects )

Overview: The Glamsterdam upgrade, planned for 2026, aims to address the abuse of MEV ( (Maximum Extractable Value) by separating the roles of proposers and builders and implementing an access control list. This follows the successful Fusaka upgrade in 2025, which increased the capacity of blobs by 8 times ) from 6 to 48 blobs per block (, thereby reducing transaction fees on the L2 layer by 95% ) Coincu (.

What does this mean: MEV reform may reduce the centralization risk of validators, but the gradual implementation complexity of Glamsterdam ) may delay scalability improvements. Historically, updates like Dencun ( in March 2024 have led to an increase of over 60% in ETH before going live, but a short-term correction usually occurs after the update is released.

2. The changes in staking in the economy ) have negatively affected single validators (

Overview: New research indicates that individual stakers are more sensitive to the yield of ), reaching 10%, compared to institutional pools. The proposed issuance reduction may lead to negative yields for individual validators, accelerating the shift towards liquid staking tokens (LST), such as Lido(ETH research ).

What does this mean: If a single validator exits, the risk of centralization may increase - currently, 72% of validators are already working in the pool. However, the growth of LST may increase the utility of ETH in DeFi, for example, Lido's stETH staking has grown by 40% since the beginning of the year.

3. The big boss of regulators, (, approves the positive impact of the ETF on stake ).

Overview: The SEC's decision on ETH stake ETFs, such as BlackRock's ETHA, is expected to be made in November 2025. Approval would allow the ETF to reinvest earnings—unlike Bitcoin ETFs—and could lock up more than 30% of the ETH supply ( Daily Hodl ).

This means: ETFs targeting staking may attract investments equivalent to the ( billion flowing into Bitcoin, expected by 2025. If rejected, it could lead to massive liquidations - currently, there are about ) million Ethereum queued for withdrawal.

Conclusion

The prospects of Ethereum in 2026 depend on the balance between technological innovation and the risks of staking centralization. The Glamsterdam update and the approval of staking ETFs may lead to a supply shortage with only 19% of ETH in circulation (, while the exit of validators threatens the health of the network. Pay attention to the open interest in ETH futures on the CME—breaking the ) billion mark will be a signal of institutional confidence in the timing of updates.

Can Ethereum's dominance in the tokenization of real assets offset the centralization pressure on validators?