Ethereum UTXO Proposal Claims 99.8% Storage Cut as ETH Defends $1,750

Ethereum researcher Toni Wahrstätter has put forward a technical proposal to migrate Bitcoin’s unspent transaction output (UTXO) accounting onto Ethereum’s base layer, claiming the design could cut the network’s permanent storage requirement by up to 99.8%. The proposal keeps only a minimal spend marker live on the network state, pushing the bulk of payment data into historical blockchain records — a direct response to Ethereum’s persistent state-bloat problem. The debate lands as ETH trades near $1,744.96, down 0.43% on 24-hour volume of $8.13 billion, according to COINOTAG data.

Storage design reignites Ethereum-Cardano rivalry

The UTXO framework drew an immediate rebuttal from Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson, who accused Ethereum of drawing on Cardano’s Extended UTXO (EUTXO) model without attribution. EUTXO extends the classic unspent-output model to support programmable spending conditions, and Hoskinson argues Ethereum’s proposed design rests on that same foundation. For traders tracking layer-1 competitive dynamics, the exchange underscores how design credit is contested as rival smart-contract chains converge on similar scaling approaches — even as most market participants remain focused on price levels rather than architecture debates this week.

ETH price structure: $1,800 resistance holds, liquidation clusters cap upside

ETH’s daily chart shows a pivot point at $1,745.89, with resistance layers at $1,784.32, $1,831.23 and $1,985.30, and support at $1,707.78, $1,615.03 and $1,512.00. RSI(14) sits at 53.0 with the trend flagged as bearish. Long positioning outweighs shorts at 65.6% versus 34.4%, with funding at +0.0045% favoring longs, per COINOTAG DATA.

Geopolitical risk drove the latest price action. Renewed tension in the Middle East — following reports of Iran firing on civilian vessels near the Strait of Hormuz and subsequent U.S. airstrikes on Iranian military targets — triggered a broad risk-off move that pushed capital into safe-haven assets and weighed on crypto demand. ETH failed to hold multiple attempts above $1,800 over the past week, compressing into a narrow consolidation range as on-chain and derivatives data pointed to dense liquidation clusters just above spot, repeatedly capping recovery attempts.

On-chain flows split, prediction markets price both extremes

On-chain data shows the market roughly split down the middle. During the sell-off toward the $1,500 zone, approximately 100,000 unique addresses deposited ETH to a major exchange — one of the highest deposit-address counts in three years and a classic signal of rising spot sell pressure. Withdrawal activity spiked simultaneously, indicating some holders capitulated while others treated the drawdown as an accumulation opportunity.

Prediction markets reflect that same uncertainty: bettors assigned a 75% probability to ETH reaching $2,000 in 2026, against a 68% probability of a retest of $1,500 — both scenarios priced live simultaneously.

Regulatory calendar and BTC ETF flows add to the backdrop

The SEC updated its 2026 rulemaking agenda on July 7 and 8, adding three crypto-focused proposals covering safe-harbor provisions, broker-dealer capital requirements and alternative trading systems — a signal of a shift from enforcement-led oversight toward rules-based regulation. Despite this, large institutional allocators appear to be waiting on the outcome of the CLARITY Act before committing fresh capital to digital assets, leaving sidelined institutional flows without the certainty needed to move into Ethereum or the broader market.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded an $84 million net outflow, ending a three-day buying streak, even as BTC staged a sharp recovery from intraday lows after President Trump signaled Iran was seeking a deal. Ethereum held comparatively steady through the reversal, a reminder that headline-driven volatility rarely dictates the durable trend.

Read more: BTC ETFs Flip to $84.9M Outflow as IBIT, GBTC Shed $122.8M Combined